God of Swords: How a Sword is Forged
by manram
Summary: Why should someone fight, if his ideals have betrayed him, there is no-one to fight for and only despair wait him? EMIYA certainly wouldn't, and his story has finally come to an end. Or is it?
1. Chapter 0: A broken Sword

_**CIAOOOOOOOO!**_

 _ **Here I am with a third story!**_

 _ ***Schiva piano* Heya! Attenzione con la roba!**_

 _ **I know that I have another two stories which are going to be long, but at least I want to pubblish a teaser of this one (because no one looks at the damn poll)**_

 _ **Now, about the story:**_

 _ **You know how my other two story are pretty light hearted (even if the protagonist is an edgy teenager with strong power with the Force)?**_

 _ **Well, forget that light.**_

 _ **This story will be darker.**_

 _ **Not as much as this first chapter, but dark nonetheless.**_

 _ **I need something to vent my frustration and knowledge on.**_

 _ **And I need something to give my… previous hard feelings a bit of leeway.**_

 _ **Second. This will not be a Tragedy.**_

 _ **Don't like them.**_

 _ **It will be dark, yes. I will try to show the shadowy nature of the Gods in their mythos, yes.**_

 _ **But not a tragedy.**_

 _ **Third: FEM-Percy.**_

 _ **Cause Deus vult.**_

 _ **And I still am not good enough to write that kind of stories.**_

 _ **The rest of the AN will be at the end of the chapter.**_

 _ **Good read.**_

 _ ****_ **THE GOD OF SWORDS**

 **CHAPTER ZERO: A BROKEN S** **WORD**

" _I am the bone of my sword"_

When did I start thinking about doing this?

Was it when my memories became ash, and what remained was regret and swords?

Was it when I took _his_ dreams, and made them mine?

…

Was it when I held her lifeless body, and the last member of my family died saying to be happy?

" _Steel is my Body and Fire is my Blood"_

Was it when I was unable to not go to try save someone, even when I had all?

Was it when, even when she cried and begged and shouted and cursed to value myself, to not go, to remain, I continued on this cursed path?

…

Was it when she left me, finally reaching the truth that I was nothing more than a machine and that being with me was nothing more than an hindrance?

" _I have created over a thousand Blades"_

Was it when I was first unable to save a life?

Was it when I saw the result of me not being strong enough?

…

Was it when I did the pact and sold my soul to the Devil?

" _Unknown to Death, nor known to Life"_

Was it when I saved that person?

Was it when that person decided, to gain more power for himself, that I was the culprit of a war?

…

Was it when I saw, in my last moments, I saw aqua blue eyes while a voice shouted at me?

" _I have withstood pain to create many weapons"_

Was it when my ideal first betrayed me?

Was it when my ideal betrayed me a second, a third, a thousandth time?

…

Was it when, for my ideal, I had to kill those that I swore to protect a million times forevermore?

" _Yet these hands will never hold anything"_

Was it when I was first summoned by her, in an unknown future or a past long forgotten, and I had to see myself again?

Was it when I first recognized, recognize, will recognize the signs of myself going on the same path that now I despised?

…

Was it when, every time I returned, return, will return to the throne, more and more weapons came in my world inside the Throne of Heroes, showing how many of these selves would walk my path?

" _So as I pray"_

But all of these things had no meaning.

The only thing which was important was that the mistake would end.

" _ **Unlimited Blade Works**_ _"_

 _Emiya Shirou would die, even if he was another self, and that pitiful existence would finally end at that moment._

A great fire was born around us, and then the derelict castle we were in was no more.

I looked down at the _fool_ with nothing more than indiference and, with my voice full of serene determination, I declared:

"You are nothing more than a fool who knows how much his dreams are unattainable, a fraud, nay, a _puppet_ without a will of his own who wasted his life on a ridiculous ideal".

Then I asked:

"Can you finally see how much saving people only because you wish for _you_ to save them is selfish and misguided? Can't you see that there is no point in a life like ours?"

Shirou Emiya snarled at him, defiant at his words, but I continued, my voice full of resigned calm:

"You know that I am your ideal, and you should know how did we end"

With a rage cry, Shirou Emiya charged at me, prana forming the black form of Kanshou, but I blocked his sword and its white wife Bakuya with my own Kanshou, and continued to talk without any issue:

"I suppose that you, being the idealistic Shirou Emiya, can do nothing more than reject me"

I broke our stalemate with my superior strength, making him falter, but he returned back with a sloppy attack from Bakuya followed by an even sloppier one made with Kanshou, after which I forced him to not move by blocking the hilt.

Then I made the question, my voice composted:

"Now tell me: knowing what you know, do you honestly want to become an Hero of Justice?"

"I've already told you that" answered immediately Shirou Emiya, rage flowing through him contrasting my own calmness:"Is not that I want to become one: is that I will _be_ one!"

I let him force my own guard, unbalancing him and then blocking him behind my back, while blocking his black falchion, which tried to hit my side, with my white one.

While my the blade of my Bakuya sunk in the coast of his Kanshou, with a resigned tone, or maybe an illuminated one, I said:

"You are right, you must become one no matter what. You _are_ Shirou Emiya, and that's the only thing you have been passionate about"

I lowered my eyes, thinking of all the wounds I had fighting against Monsters, both humans and inhumans, trying to both dispense Salvation and Justice on the whole humanity.

Uselessly.

"You know that the heart of an Hero of Justice simply isn't in you" I continued, my words coming sour both for their contents and for what I would have to do after.

A whimper came from behind my back.

"You see?" were my tired words:"Your reaction tells me that you had always suspected yourself. My memories are confused, but there is still one sight that remained in me all this time: the flames and the pervasive stench of Death; wishing for help when there was none; what I felt when the wish was granted; but most of all, I remember the look of relief on Kiritsugu Emiya's face when he saved me.

There is where your dream began: it was some time before you finally felt some gratitude for being saved. You adored Kiritsugu Emiya, that's all, and because of him, because you saw how happy he was when he saved you, you began to think that you could have the same thing".

I then remained silent for some moments, letting those words sink in.

In those moments I remembered all the suffering I caused, all the death, the pain, the loss, the blood, the bodies, the broken dreams.

All of them were before me, laid bare in this barren wasteland.

Then I looked at the clouded sky and the broken cogs, the symbol of how much my dream had destroyed me, of how much I had lost due to it, and I continued:

"Children will often idolize their parents but, when he died, a curse was your inheritance. At that moment that man left you no choice but to become a hero. The beliefs you cling to are nothing more than second hand ideals Kiritsugu Emiya failed to live up to. In the end all you are doing is imitating what he believed was right.

Hero of Justice. Don't make me laugh" the acidity of the words themselves were enough to make me almost kill him there and then, but I had to say it all.

I had to destroy the ideals themselves, to have the complete chance of cancelling the mistake that I was.

"Just because the ideal consumes you, it doesn't mean that helping others is something you truly want. It's nothing but a borrowed dream. Someone like you thinking that you are able to break that oxymoron it's the height of hybris!"

I cleaved in half his Kanshou and then pierced his thigh.

An heart wrenching cry of pain came from the boy, who then fell on the ground helpless, but my words continued to flow, relentless:

"That's right, you couldn't help but to admire the beauty in our father dream of helping others!"

Anger flew through me when I slashed down, nearly killing the boy if he didn't get up and hastily put on a guard.

"That's why we never developed any real passion of our own!"

I attacked again Shirou Emiya, knocking him back, and continuing my offense my thoughts went directly into speech:

"We added hypocrisy to hypocrisy, driven by this ridiculous obsession with killing with sacrificing myself for the sake of others, blind to our own arrogance!"

Being my argument almost at the end, my Bakuya hit its target for hopefully the last time, a mortal wound to the side of the fool, my hatred for that curse reaching its peak, while in the background a female shout reached my ears, coming from Saber herself:

"But in the end we are nothing more than a fraud" I finished, my tone regretful at what we could have been if that wretched dream hadn't grown inside our hearts:"And our hypocrisy can't save anyone! How could we, when we never knew who we should save to begin with! And look, this is the result! We could never be a saviour, we never had anything to save after we left them! We became the embodiment of Justice, and Justice doesn't care about Salvation!"

I hit with my Kanshou, breaking the fool's own swords, and launching the body many meters before me, with another grave wound running on his torso.

Knowing that finally the end was near, my voice returned almost calm, while I could feel that my face was still snarling:

"Your ideals are finally falling apart. Maybe other people aren't more important than we are. It's dawning on you that a world everyone is happy is just a fairy tale. And, if you can't live without that dream, let it drag you down and drown you!"

A last hiccup came from the fool, when the remains of the two swords became blue particles of Prana again.

It's done.

Finally, it's done.

I almost laughed while looking at my corpse, but I was able to restrain myself, and instead I took a last look at my own world.

Finally, finally I would embrace the sweet end, and this accursed world would finally finish here.

I smiled.

I truly, completely smiled for the first time in centuries.

Then a memory slammed into my mind:

*Are you my Master?*

And then Prana came out from the body in front of me, like gusts of wind.

The boy got up on his knees and, while his eyes were vacant and he was still wounded, I saw that he was still alive.

Then blinding lights came from his wounds, and stitches of pure Prana started to close them.

How-

Avalon. Even with the pact severed, that artefact that our fat- Kiritsugu Emiya used to save us still is able to cure his wounds.

" _I am…"_

A soft whisper came in my hears, voiced by Shirou Emiya, which made me freeze for one moment and then summon in my hands my two faithful swords for another time.

" _The bone of my sword"_

Two beacons of light appeared in his hands, just when I launched my two falchions.

"I can't lose!"

Shouted Shirou Emiya, deflecting the floating falchions with his new formed pair.

"Not to you!"

*Not to you!*

I flinched slightly at the shout, a far echo coming from my soul, and I heard only part of his spiel against me, his eyes fierce again while his Kanshou pointed at me:

"…I will defeat the part of me that is you!"

Then Shirou Emiya charged at me again, and every doubt was drown by steel and sparks.

Only a jaded Servant, fighting for his right to die, and an idealistic fool, fighting for his right to live, remained.

*CLANG!*  
"Your ability have reached a turning point, but there is still a sea between your skill and mine"

Then I kicked him, but he was able to remain on his feet and he answered, his voice sure:

"You could have beaten my belief, but I still have my hands and feet-"

*-And while I could be defeated, I refuse to be beaten by myself!*

Again my soul resonated, for some reason.

What was happening?

When I was able to regain my sight, my-Shirou Emiya was on me again, and his swords clashed on my hastily formed guard, while my lips morphed into an expression of annoyance at my inability of slaying the boy in front of me.

This annoyance was voiced from my own angered voice, just after I had kicked my past-Shirou Emiya to make distance:

"Pathetic. Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic! Can't you see how much foolish is what you are doing?! True Justice is the result of laws, of order, while a world where everyone is happy is simply impossible! What you are trying to follow is the path of the murderer!"

Figures of men, women, _children_ dead by my hand continued to appear in my eyes, reminding of how much an hypocrite I am.

"What you say is true" was the calm response of Shirou Emiya, his spirit now strong:"But just because are correct does not mean that-

*You are right!*

Again, again, again with those words! Why did they keep to resonate!? WHY!?

Then he was on me again. How was he able to match my skills with the swords in such a short time?

I tried to use my superior force when he was on air, having read my style and trying to capitalize on it, and I caught him with a hit with a hilt, and made him fly again.

He got up again, and defiant his golden eyes looked into me, and another echo came into me

*I can now die happily*

Whywhywhywhy!?

Why does he still stand!?

Why can't that cursed belief be broken?!

I will have to destroy the spirit along the body, then, for myself to be finally erased!

I summoned from the Marble my copies, and with the slightest thought they flew at my pas-Shirou Emiya, who just deflected them, starting a reckless charge at me.

*Come on, Baka, you can do it!*

For every step he took, my Marble changed while the voice of Rin came into my mind, while she tried to teach m- Shirou Emiya.

Why do these memory appear? He still didn't have them.

So I continued my onslaught, breaking his Kanshou and leaving only Bakuya, his Prana having been outlasted by the fight.

*Sempai, wake up, it's morning*

Sakura, waking m-my past self up after he had returned from the Clocktower.

WHYWHY?!

How was it possible!?

I continued, these time four enormous swords appeared and were launched against Shirou Emiya, but with a shout of determination

"My ideals-"

*-Are not wrong!* he continued his charge, only broken remains of Bakuya remaining when he charged desperate at me, my arm with a still perfect Bakuya held high to strike him down.

But I did nothing.

I only looked at his eyes.

He wasn't wrong.

We only wanted to be happy.

Maybe he could go on without occurring to my fate?

What a cruelty to make me look at someone so bright, with every step changing me, the ideals that I thought to be wrong moving someone who was the very thing that I wanted to be.

So why there was still this sensation of having already seen it?

Why could I feel that something was amiss?

Then, just then, I looked at not my past self head's, and saw a tuff of white hair.

Nothing more than a few strays strings of pure white, but it was enough for my mind to remember, for the Grail to fail its purpose and make my mind complete once more.

When my past self was at ten meters from me, I remembered the summoning of Saber in every detail.

When my past self was at five meters from me, I remembered the fight against Tohsaka.

When my past self was at three meters from me, I remembered the battle against Caster and Kozuki and the loss of Saber.

When my past self was at two meters from me, I remembered the second battle and… myself… summoning Unlimited Blade Works for the first time.

When my past self was at one meter from me, and his sword was at an inch from hitting my side, I saw my battle against myself.

So the Archer of my Grail war wasn't Ajax, like I thought for a long time, but myself?

But that would mean-

My arm lowered, my instincts no longer stopped by my clouded mind, and everything became black.

…

…

…

" _ **This cannot stand"**_

What's happening?

" _ **You have done a great crime against humanity, Counter Guardian EMIYA, and for this crime, you shall be punished "**_

What? What's happening?! Why can't I move?!

" _ **For the crimes made against the world and humanity by the creation of a paradox, you will observe the fate of those your erased self helped, while taking care yourself of your other selves"**_

What do you mean?!

" _ **Enjoy your last mission, EMIYA. Your employment is finally at the end, and humanity has been greatly helped by your work"**_

What do you mean, Alaya?!

 _My swords, arrow, hands murdered, leaving a young boy, man, assassin without any salvation._

Whywhywhy do I have to see this?! What doeshumanity gain from this?!

 _My swords, arrow, hands slayed, leaving a young girl, woman, sister without any hope._

WHYWHYWHYWHY?! Make it stop!

 _My swords, arrow, hands erased, leaving a young girl, woman, junior without any smile on her lips._

NONONONONONO!

 _My swords, arrow, hands destroyed, leaving a young girl, woman, king without anyone searching for her._

… Why does my existence only hurt? Why?

 _My swords, arrow, hands killed, leaving a young girl, woman, lover without anyone to save._

…

…

…

I only wanted to be happy.

" _ **Erasing the paradox Counter Guardian EMIYA"**_

 _Now are you happy, Emiya Shirou?_

 _Are you?_

But what was the truth, what _is_ the truth, is that I should have never existed in the first place.

At least I would have stopped hurting and hurt, not because I simply was a mistake, but because with my mistake I killed those that I loved, who didn't have anything to do with my cursed self are now slayed by my own hands because of my pact with Alaya.

At least, my only comfort, was that the Sin that I was would be destroyed, and no-one would follow my path.

" _ **Counter guardian EMIYA erased"**_

 _Thus I was finally erased, painlessly, and I saw no-more_

…

…

…

 **Oh? And what are you doing here, O ancient hero? Your deeds are heroics, but the Elysium wouldn't stand a soul such as yours, and it doesn't deserve you.**

 _What?_

 **But being together with me, even for someone who would embrace that fate, would be a disservice to an Hero such as you.**

 _Do not call me an Hero!_

 **Could you go to the Beatific Islands, along with the greatest heroes? No, you would take it as a golden prison, and you don't deserve it.**

 _Leave. Me._ _ **DIE!**_

 **Incredible. Even without any substance, your soul is already able to wrestle some control against me. But I can't let you flicker away. It would set a terrible precedent.**

 _Just leave me!_

 **But maybe… That would work… But…**

 _Who are you?!_

 **Just an old goddess who wants to help both her kin and to right some wrongs.**

 _There are only two gods, and both hate me, so leave me alone!_

 **I'm neither those entities you call Alaya, nor the one you ironically call Gaia. Just know that I am deeply related with the latter. After all is no good to ask so much information from a woman!**

 _What in the Root do you want, and what will make you go away!?_

 **I said it, didn't I? You did so much good for humanity that only one prize is fitting for you. But you** _ **have**_ **broken the laws in fact. Soooo…**

 _ **WHAT DO YOU WANT!**_

 ***STAB!***

 **Whoa! That nearly injured me! But now I have an idea! Kukuku! Now, thus I, the Primordial, declare**

 **YOU, EMIYA SHIROU, WROUGHT IRON HERO, COUNTER GUARDIAN, WILL HAVE TO WALK ON EARTH AGAIN UNTIL I SEE FIT FOR THE 'CRIME' OF CREATING A PARADOX! THEN I WILL GIVE HIM HIS REWARD FOR HIS DEEDS!**

 **What do you think, cool ain't it?**

… _What the hell?_

 **Underworld. Now chop chop! You don't want to be late for your birthday, don't you?**

 _Wait, what?!_

...

…

…

" _Push! One last time!"_

" _GAAAAH!"_

I opened my eyes, only to see a blurry red suffused light.

And it was hot.

Comfortably hot.

He could hear a somewhat familiar beat, which for some reason soothed him.

And he could feel that he was immerged in something in that moment.

Where was I?

Then a pulsation came, and from the comfortable place he was moved in what could be only called a claustrophobic, shadowy tunnel.

Where the fuck was I?!

" _Push! I can see the head!"_

" _GODS DAMNIT! COME OUT! AHHHHH"_

What in the Root was happening?!

' _ **I did say that it wouldn't be good to be late for your birthday, didn't I?'**_ commented the amused voice of the 'Goddess' inside my head.

Let's just say that I didn't understand what she was talking about:

' _What do you mean with birthday?!'_

' _ **Exactly what I said. Today is your birthday, old soul! *Inhale* *PFFFT!*'**_ Was that a trumpet? _**'Now let yourself be born again, Hero!'**_

No. Nonononono.

Why?!

"The head is out! Come on, one last push!" shouted an excited female voice, just after I went out in the cold air, while couldn't see anything more than a several grey coloured blurs and an horrible light, and my head was supported by two big hands.

"FUCK YOU, HEPHAESTUS, THIS BABY, AND MYSELF FOR HAVING THE IDEA OF DOING IT! NOW COME OUT, YOU LITTLE FUUUUUUU-!" shouted an extremely pained voice, female as well, whose voice came from… under him?

With an inhuman effort I was able to see where I cam- fuck no! NO!

' _ **It's strange to see your birth'**_ the voice was meditative? How could you be meditative with the… the… that! _ **'O, calm down. I wasn't given birth, seeing it by the part of the birthed is interesting'**_ **.**

Only a deeply disturbed individual would find it interesting!

Then, followed by a sound which could be only called Relief, he came completely out of…there, and immediately was taken up and inclined a bit, and the analytical part of his mind was aware of the reason the nurse (if that was a nurse) was doing this.

But that analytical part was completely drowned by the indignation, rage and sheer disbelief of what was happening.

But rage was at the foremost of what was happening, and I instinctually tried to shout at the unfairness of it all.

That shout was too similar to a baby cry to my muffled ears.

' _ **Happy Birthday to you!'**_ exclaimed the annoying voice from inside my mind, annoyance which showed outside with little cries.

"I'm going to call your father that you have already given birth and to take the camera!" I heard the excited woman say after giving me to the other woman.

Then I felt that comfortable heat again, along with that familiar beat, which made my shouting of rage calm somehow.

Then a comforting hand came to rub my head gently, and with equal gentleness I heard this sweet voice:

"Finally I can see you with my eyes, Sochi. It was a veeeery long wait, but I'm so happy that you are finally born"

Uuuuh. Why was I so sleepy?

"At first I wanted to name you Basara, but now your cute white hair is making me change my mind. What do you say about… Shirou? Kajiya Shirou, son of Kajiya Misato and Hephaestus".

I heard one horrible thing, but as tired as I was I could only make a low lament before slumbering.

…

…

…

" **Again here, I see"**

 _Just… what do you want?_

" **Why this tired tone? You just had an occasion that heroes in the calibre of Odysseus didn't have. Why are you so angered by it?"**

 _You-you want me to explain why now I hate this situation, and for that you?_

" **Well, hating me seems a bit too much, but-"**

 _Because I'm again bounded against my will to a deity._

light.

 _Because now I'm going to be used against my will, again!_

Light.

 _Because I only wanted to die for my sins, for what I've done!_

LIGHT.

 _BECAUSE WHEN I FINALLY HAD REACHED MY OBJECTIVE, THOSE THAT I LOVED ARE ALL DEAD OR WANTING TO BE SO, AND ALL FOR MY SELFISHNESS!_

LIGHT!

My body appeared and, maybe due to my own anger, maybe due to my own desperation, my Magecraft activated and swords of all the shape and dimensions appeared around me, illuminating the void, while I felt a familiar weight came in my hands.

But that wasn't registered in my mind, clouded by raw emotions, and with a snarl I ended:

"This is why I wanted to be erased! My presence brings only suffering to those around me, my actions didn't bring anything other than pain! Even my inner self isn't anything else than a barren wasteland filled with death! Why would I want to continue my existence after what I did!"

Then, and only then, I felt my anger vanish and be replaced by apathy and mentally I raised all the weapons which were in what could be called ground on the air, pointing now in all direction, but Kanshou and Bakuya, which familiar weight in my hands calmed me.

"… **Calm down, calm down, I understood what you meant the first time"** said the voice all around me in a soothing tone, while the darkness around me shifted in a strange way.

I nodded, not at all confused by the strangeness of this place, but my eyes were still glaring all around me and my weapons still ready.

"… **Why do you desire so much to die?"** asked the voice after a few seconds of silence, the darkness around still twitching at every word.

And I answered, thinking that she would let me be erased if she understood my reasons: "I don't have any ideals to fight for anymore, those have betrayed me long ago. I don't have nor want any loved one to fight for anymore, my actions have destroyed those that I had long ago. And I don't have any reason to fight for myself anymore, I simply am too old to care about myself any longer. So, if I don't have anything to look for in the future and having destroyed with my hands not only my past, but my other selves pasts, why should I remain around? To follow the orders of another deity like a mindless drone again? I would simply kill myself again, but I don't think that you would let me do it, right?"

All of this was said in a flat tone, while my lips in the end twisted in a tired smile, which seemed an insult to a normal one.

After a few moments the void around me vibrated at the sound of a soft sigh, then I heard the feminine voice say with a sorry tone:

" **Maybe I was a bit hasty in my decision, I hope that you could forgive me for this decision"**.

I could feel the real regret in the words, but even then I couldn't do anything else than rise my eyebrows in surprise.

A deity which asked forgiveness? Impossible.

" **But there is a little problem *cough*Ikindacan'teraseyounow*cough** ***** **"**

Did I just hear something ridiculous again?

"What do you mean that you can't erase me? Aren't you a deity? Don't you have an absolute power?" I demanded, my voice gaining more than a bit of steel, while the swords around me started vibrating.

" **Weelll… I have used my powers** **to declare… and I don't have enough powers to cancel that declaration… so I can't erase you"**

"In summary I am your slave?" I asked quietly, despite the desperation of being in this situation again starting to seep through.

" **NO!"** shouted the voice, making my swords vibrate and my hears ring, and after a few moment a more calm voice returned: **"No. What I can do is waiting for some time to… take your life"**

"And why should this 'wait' be necessary if I can simply kill me here and now" I asked with the most untrusting tone I had ever used.

" **Because I would need to erase even the memories of you, and some of those who know of your existence are gods. I don't think you want for them to suffer or search for you, right? Then I would need to cancel the declare, not a small task"** explained the voice without any rebuttal nor annoyance at my tone.

But it left out one thing:"How much time before you are ready?"

" **Give or take… fifteen/sixteen years. Yeah, around that to make sure"** said the voice with a strange tone.

But I didn't care about it.

Sixteen years, uh?

It wasn't this long time compared to how much I had passed under Alaya's service, and I didn't think that there was any lie said by the deity.

But I didn't want for her to have that much power on me, she could simply change her mind and make me do what she desired.

So I talked with a calm tone:

"If you give me the switch to use the power I will make this pact with you, and make a Geass with me, then I agree"

" **So"** asked the voice with a tone strangely hopeful: **"you want an oath to make sure that I uphold my word?"**

"Yes" I answered curtly, slightly confused at the question.

" _ **I swear on my immortal soul that in sixteen years from now I will let this Emiya Shirou, wrought Iron hero, the one that I summoned, make the decision on his life, if to continue or to end it, this I add on my declaration!"**_ the deity declared, and, after a shudder at the use of _that_ name, I could feel a sensation very similar to a Geass being etched into my very soul, but it was… different? Stronger? More sacred? I don't know, but it felt all these things.

But what did the voice mean with the decision? I only wanted to erase myself, nothing more and nothing less.

After all what could I find now, after all these years and death?

Even in this new world, where there were seemingly still gods around, if the one in front of me wasn't neither Alaya or Gaia.

…

…

Wait, didn't his new birth mother say that he was son of Hephaestus?

"What does the name of my birth father mean? Is it a simple coincidence?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even and not freak out too much.

" **No, your father truly is Hephaestus, god of smiting, a good kid if I remember well-"** answered the deity, who continued to talk while I thought over this revelation.

Splendid.

So now I had to use my Magecraft to make sure to remain as hidden as possible from the gods, to make sure to not become their toy, while already being a likely candidate for that position?

I had seen the stories of the Heroes of old from the twilight of the Age of Gods, it wasn't pretty.

" **-But you will have to pay attention to monsters, I don't want to use my power to bring you back to life every time"** the voice was continuing, not noticing the bomb she just dropped

"What?! What do you mean bring me back to life?!" I shouted, my swords vibrating again at my anger and some more appearing around me.

" **Due to my first declare you would have to walk upon Earth as 'punishment' to make sure the Fates didn't hunt you along with the Furies, and even though with my second correction you will have the decision to end your life, you still must reach that age before the final breath"** explained the voice, trying to calm me down.

After a few moments of silence on my part she continued **:"If I didn't put something you hate it wouldn't have been enough as a 'punishment', and I didn't know how much you wanted to cut your life. I apologise again for my hastiness"**.

A deity which apologised to a mortal two times?

What in the Root?

"I apologise as well for my unjust anger towards you" I said, any emotion now absent from my words while I recalled the weapons in my world again.

Then, after a few moments of silence, I asked a question which was at the foremost of my mind with a calm tone:"Why did you revive me?"

"…" The deity was silent for a moment, then it came with an equally calm tone: **"I wouldn't have forgiven myself for an Hero such as you, who has given his all for the salvation of Humanity, to be sentenced to the Tartarus for the misgivings of life caused by another deity. That was one reason. The other reason is that I can feel that horrible changings are coming in our way, and I fear that this world, and those upon it, will end. I don't know if the Olympians will be enough to counter the storm, and with your appearance in my dominion I thought that this way would sate both yours and my desires. So these are my reasons, but if you don't want to help the people here I will not hold it on you, and what I promised to you will be done, even if I humbly ask you to help my kin in this world, o old Hero"** the end was said in what was painfully similar to someone who begged for help.

But at that moment, despite the seriousness of the situation, I wanted to laugh.

I, who had given my life, my passion, my very _soul_ for Salvation and Justice, to be an Hero, should walk again on that path?

I, who has destroyed myself to get rid of my ideals, should desire those again?

I, who has ripped even those who were innocent for that objective, and who only wanted the liberation of death, should be an Hero again?

Madness! Hilarious madness!

 _*My ideals are not wrong!*_

But the laugh didn't come, and only lucid thinking remained, and that lucid thinking brought these words, said with seriousness:"From what you said, and from what I know, if you didn't help me now my ultimate desire would be forever out of my reach, for that I thank you. And I will help your… _kin_ , which I think are the gods, against this 'changing' with my expertise. But when the time I can finally die comes, I will take it in every case, goddess".

That was it. With this action I would kill two birds with one stone: I would be able to repay my debt that I knew was there, and I would shut up that part of me which still believed in those blasted ideals.

" **Understood! Thank you!"** said the deity in a grateful tone, the darkness around him wiggling pleased.

How much had his life been strange that now he considered that normal?

Then the ground shook, and he could see the darkness around starting to vanish:

" **It seems that our time is up, old soul. Have a nice meal!"** he was sure that she was amused, but what she said made his blood freeze.

What did she mean with have a nice meal!?

…

…

…

"*Yawn*You really had to wake me up at three a.m., didn't you?"

WHY!?

…

…

…

 _Nine years later_

These were nine long years.

To be unable to eat without any control was disturbing.

To be unable to control you bladder was humiliating.

To be unable to ask help without shouting unconsciously was beyond ridiculous.

But during the first year of life, I finally didn't have to see Misato's breast while she gave me nourishment, and three months after I had enough control on my tongue and lips to say my first word.

Which was 'mama'.

Seeing that old man and woman take that camera at the excited call of Misato was somewhat strange for me, so when they asked to repeat that word I only stared at them dumbed.

After a few seconds I felt a bit sorry when they were so much dejected at my lack of response, so I said two other words:

'Jiji' and 'Baba'.

It was somewhat weird to look at the three adults jump up and down, hugging each other and laughing like they were the children, for some reason that I couldn't understand.

But my proudest achievement was when he could finally go alone to the bathroom.

Thanks, thanks, too kind.

Not like there weren't any troubles, like that time when that little lamia tried to eat me.

It was pretty difficult to hide the sword marks on the floor.

And in that occasion I was able to use his new Magic Circuits.

Yes, use them, not activate them.

It seemed like the goddess I was in constricted living relationship with, and who was now extremely amused by this summary, was more helpful than I thought.

Which wasn't saying much.

' _ **HEY!'**_

Let me continue and don't disturb.

She had helped activate my Circuits without the use of my Magecraft abilities.

Which were still lacking.

Even with the number of Circuits going up to thirty two, while his Prana units usable became eleven Rin and half, he was still useless in normal Magecraft.

How splendid.

Oh, and his Magecraft, the one innumerable Shirous had worked on for a cumulative of thousands of years?

Completely useless.

Well, not completely: the runes were useful, and some of the Emiyas had interesting ideas with the Projections.

But those abilities which were the basis of his own abilities?

He had the arias, he had the steps to work on, he had the experience.

But now the conditions had changed.

Now he was immensely more powerful, in magi terms, while the Gaia didn't do any interference with the Mysteries.

If the Mystery was the bread, the Prana was the yeast and Gaia the salt.

Put too much salt, or there is too much resistance from Gaia, and the yeast dies and the bread, or the Mystery, doesn't grow.

Put too much yeast, or there is not enough salt, and the bread blows.

You don't take any prize if you guess what happens with a Prana made sword.

So now I had to train my control, something I never have had to do thanks, or due, to my low quality Circuits, along with stuffing the repair shop with runes just after the lamia's attack, to make sure that another accident like that never happened again.

Strangely it was pretty easy to relearn those skill, now he was at a threshold in which he was at twenty.

' _ **You are a son of the god of smiths. You create swords. Would it really be strange?'**_

Another thing that I had noticed was the Smell.

I called it 'Smell', but the bubbly deity who could only talk with me said it was the 'Scent'.

' _ **HEY! Stop dissing the goddess!'**_

And from what I could understand was like a Magi sense for the Magecraft, only that in this world it was for all the things bounded to the Greek gods.

By the Root how strange it was to say it.

At least I was able to craft a pendant so I wouldn't have to be a mystical bacon.

It was strangely easy to do that pendant, in fact.

' _ **Oi, did you hear what I said before?'**_ asked the annoying goddess.

' _Yes, I hear you, frustrating goddess'_.

' _ **Then you should know that your teacher is calling you'**_ she said with a deadpan tone.

I snapped out of my musings and indeed I heard the young woman in front of us children urging me with a fake smile and a much too sweet tone:

"Come on, Shirou, we have to do the Pledge Allegiance, and we can't start without you!"

I sighed and, standing up, prepared to do the stupid pray of the morning

" _I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands"_

So I swear myself to a piece of cloth and then to an entire nation, when I should be a child, who doesn't understand even the meaning of _Republic_.

" _one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all"_

I would like to remember that for the first amendment there was liberty of cult, and making say to a Magus, who knows how much of douchebags the gods are, that a nation is under God doesn't make a compelling argument to serve it.

Aaaand now it ended, thanks the Root.

Wait, so now it's lesson time.

Noooooo.

' _So, how do we pass time while the thousandth time I attend this lessons goes on?'_ I asked to the voice, trying to find something against boredom.

' _ **Sorry, but this annoying goddess is too much annoying to know a way to pass the time'**_ was the response from the aggravated goddess, and I could picture a twin tailed woman 'humphing' at me.

*Sigh*.

Oh well, I could always read the weapons inside the Works, it would be useful to find more effects with a longer look, along with more knowledge about monsters, while this blessed Mist made sure that no-one knew about it.

Let's start with Euryteus's bow…

 _Only another seven years to go._

…

…

…

…So the spear of Bellerophon can suffocate someone if it goes exactly in the throat? Strong for an D rank Noble phantasm, but too long to be used as an arrow. Maybe with Alteration…

No, it would take too much time to change it in any flyable way, and in that time I could use tens of _Hrunting_. Or even two _Caladbologs_.

Wasn't there a sword used to kill the Phoenix? Where was it…

*RIIIIING!*

Oh, it finally ended.

Probably I should have been an actor, if no-one was able to see my absent-mindedness during the lessons.

Or more probably the teacher here at Yancy didn't care less about what the children did.

It was a school for rich kids, after all.

Rich, troubled kids, but rich kids. In which I got thanks to my memories.

Long story. In summary, I wanted a school near the house so there was a minor chance of monsters' attacks and I got it in this year.

So, here I am, putting the last books in the bag. It wasn't how I thought my death would come.

I rose my eyes at the sound of steps and I glanced at three children, who were glaring at me with what those three would call a 'scary look', and the head honcho said with an high pitch 'threatening' tone:

"Snowflake, you know that you owe us something".

For me it was adorable, while I finished to put the book in the bag.

Like a kitten trying to meowing a lion into submission.

But, well…

I couldn't care less about it, nor could I care less about their age.

They wanted to make this kind of bed? Now they would have lie on it.

' _ **Isn't this kind of reaction a bit overkill? It would bring only unwanted reaction, ya know'**_ said the deity suddenly, concerned for some reason by the situation.

I sighed, and instead of teaching them a lesson on how to behave, I only stared at them with my steel grey eyes, my usual apathy being tinged with more than a bit of irritation.

A few moments and I could hear them gulp and their head honcho stammered with a bit of fear in his eyes:

"We- we will talk again, freak!" and then run away from the class, and in that moment I noticed that I was the last one in it.

I only shrugged and, putting the bag on my back, I walked out of the school, walking in the now emptied hallways and hearing the excited chattering of children outside.

The few students who were still in the school looked at me strangely, a few with curiosity and some with something akin with scorn.

Then the girls of the seventh and eighth grades had their flip phones out to take picture of me.

Figures.

' _ **Your skin is one of a middle eastern man, your features are of a Japanese and then you have white hair and grey eyes. You are not physically normal for them, and curiosity is a by-product of abnormality in children. At least they are not like those other kids'**_ explained the deity with a calming voice, like she did some other times before.

I only walked faster to get out of there as soon as possible.

 _Only another seven years._

…

…

…

' _ **Hey, old soul, can you cook again?'**_ asked the goddess out of the blue, while I was walking down the road towards my home.

' _I don't think that Narumi will let me cook something. After that one time she won't let me make anything, even if it was passable and I didn't burn down the kitchen'_ I explained, shaking my head slightly with a smirk appearing on my lips, while waiting for the light to turn green in one of the innumerable streets of New York.

' _ **If with 'passable' you mean 'Artemis would offer her virginity to eat it', than yes, your food is passable'**_ grumbled the goddess good-naturedly, exaggerating my skills.

I knew that my cooking was good, even more than it was before even due to the now complete memories of the Emiyas, but I don't think it was _that_ good.

*trrrr* *trrr* *trrr*

The sirens for the blind went out, and I started crossing the street-

' _What in the name of the Root is this smell!?'_ -only to almost throw up when a stench of burned human corpses mixed with salt came suddenly out from an alley somewhere behind me.

' _ **Monster'**_ came the now completely serious voice of the deity, who then continued: _**'Fairly strong one too. Even with your abilities, it would be better to disengage, to not create attention on us'**_

I nodded and started to Reinforce my body with Prana to run as fast as possible to my Workshop and my senses to know if it was behind me, but then those same sense made me hear something which made me freeze.

A whimper, so low and fearful that I wouldn't have heard it normally, from where the monster was.

' _ **There is someone there! Hero!'**_ shouted the goddess inside my head, but I remained still as a statue.

 _My arrows put down everyone, from children to elders, everyone linked with the threat against humanity._

*My Ideals are not wrong!*

 _My swords cut down all, from monsters in human skin to saints, to make sure that humanity would go on._

*If we don't do anything, then innocents will die!*

 _Alone, standing on an hill of swords!_

*Better be alone than do nothing!*

' _ **Old soul!'**_ the frantic deity's voice made me snap out from the trauma and take a decision;

I turned in the direction of the monster and run towards it, the onlookers being thrown on the ground by my charge and insulting me, but I didn't care.

 _ **Judging the concept of creation.**_

One hundred meters.

 _ **Hypothesizing the basic structure.**_

Fifty meters.

 _ **Duplicating the composition material.**_

Thirty meters.

 _ **Imitating the skill of its making.**_

Fifteen meters.

 _ **Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.**_

Only one last turn.

 _ **Reproducing the accumulated years.**_

" **Oh? Another god spawn has come to me? Thanks Gaia for-** " said the figure with a booming voice, three meters and half tall, but I didn't care in what it had to say.

 _ **Excelling every manufacturing process.**_

" _ **Trace on"**_

 _ **Kanshou and Bakuya**_

My charge continued, the direction between its legs and, avoiding its enormous hand with no problem, I hit.

The hulking figure let out a monstrous scream when its two legs now had two cuts so deep that the bones themselves were now halved, and only for the resistance of the tendons it remained standing, while a lot of golden dust came out of the wounds.

But my objective wasn't to make it fall, but being able to protect the young girl with long black hair behind it.

Now my back towards the girl and myself facing the figure, which was still moaning in pain.

I only raised my right hand, which was still grabbing Bakuya, and my Circuits warmed slightly more.

From my World I took out the Noble Phantasm which could injure monsters, and their countless Projections started to appear in the air, pointing the Monster from above

 _ **Trace on**_

" **Who are you, Demigod!?** " shouted with monstrous voice the figure, its lone eye trying to focus on me while his body still wasn't able to stay upright.

Maybe it was me but I could hear fear as well.

 _ **Trigger off**_

" _I'm Nameless"_

The swords descended to it, just after I said those words filled with apathy, and only golden dust remained.

With a sigh I recalled my weapons, then I turned towards the terrorized girl, who was looking at me with wide green eyes and, despite no injuries coming into sight with Structural Analysis other than some light bruises, her breath came out extremely fast, while her hands were gripping the front of her hoodie like she was in pa-

Oh, she was hyperventilating.

How delightful.

Oh well, I needed to make her forget what just happened as well, I could kill two birds with one stone.

I pumped Prana into my eyes, and, looking directly into hers, I started talking, preparing the ground to hypnotize her:

"You are calm, look into my eyes. You are serene, look into my eyes. You are secure, look into my eyes"

Her breaths became more regular, while her eyes started to became nebulous during my chanting:

"It was only a bad dream, look into my eyes. It didn't happ **en, look into my eyes** "

Her breathing was now normal, and her complete attention was completely on me, while I started the true hypnotism:

" **You will now forget everything which happened now, look into my eyes. When I snap my fingers, you will forget everything which happened and go to your home"**.

The girl nodded slowly, her eyes unfocused, and I moved my right hand next to her hear.

*SNAP!*

She got up immediately and mechanically she walked out of the hallway, getting out of sight.

I sighed again when my eyes got on the sword marks.

Alteration for the win it seemed.

 _At least I would not be found out._

…

…

…

"FOUND YOU!" shouted the black haired girl the day after, pointing at me with an accusing finger and an equally accusing glare.

' _ **You really shoot yourself in the foot, didn't you?'**_ said the oddly satisfied voice.

My only thought was

 _Fuck._

 _ **CHAPTER END**_

 _ **AN**_

 _ **Riciao!**_

 _ ***Doesn't dodge tissues* Thanks, I have a cold!**_

 _ **Now, on the story:**_

 _ **It is, like you have just seen, a What If.**_

 _ **I'm not going to make a complete crossover (the two universes mashed in one), but EMIYA will be the protagonist.**_

 _ **It's going to be a long but simple story, similar enough to the books, unlike the**_ **Unleashed Awakens** _ **will be.**_

 _ **I will try to make EMIYA's situation as I have seen him (a suicidal depressed), but my (dis)ability in writing will not always be able to paint this matter as it should.**_

 _ **When I make jabs at some American tradition, don't take them at heart: I'm an Italian from Italy, and, like the protagonist, my culture is profoundly different from yours.**_

 _ **But every correction you have is happily accepted: from writing tips to lore to culture I will try to follow your tips.**_

 _ **Remember to look at the Poll in my profile.**_

 _ **How was the chapter?**_

 _ **Good? Bad? Review, Follow and Flame!**_

 _ **And read the other teaser chapter, the**_ **Unleashed Awakens,** _ **along with the other stories**_ **!  
CIAOOO!**


	2. Chapter 1: The foolish sword

**HEYAAA ALLLL!**

 ***Schiva calendario* Eppure credevo che fossi arrivato in anticipo!**

 **Another chapter in just seventeen days since the publishing of the first of the "unleashed awakens".**

 **Which went a biiiit worse than this.**

 _ ***Just those coughcoughhundredsorthousandsdon'tknow visualization less***_

 _ ***ANDTHISSTORYHAS**_ _ **FAVS241FOLLOWS343AND37REWIEWS***_

 **So here we are! Remember to look at the AN in the end, and welcome another chapter of:**

 **GOD OF SWORDS: HOW A SWORD IS FORGED**

 **CHAPTER ONE: THE FOOLISH SWORD**

 _Fuck._

It's incredible how much sense can be given to a word.

Fuck, I fucked up is one.

Fuck, I really didn't want to be here at this moment is another.

Fuck, the saline smell I had smelt the day before, mixed with a great deal of manure, came from the girl and not the Cyclops, making the girl in front of me a demigod like me, is even another one.

Fuck, because now someone who was, probably unknowingly, deeply connected with the Moonlit world was in front of me shouting, in the middle of the launch break and of the mess hall, with a lot of children around who were looking at both of us with bewildered expressions and a silence not usually connected with young ones.

Fuck, because damn my _E root damned rank luck_ is even another one.

So I did the first thing which came in my mind and wouldn't make me blow my cover.

I put her hand on her mouth, letting her shout in it, while I commented, a smirk on my lips and my eyes staring into her:

"Good, you found me. Now, don't you have to run into your base and scream my name? Aren't we playing hide'n seek?"

The children around, all of three to four years older than my physical body, laughed loud, a cacophony of sounds coming out like a storm against a tree.

And that tree was the young girl, red faced to the roots of her black hair and with angry tears slightly showing from her green eyes, and I could see a slight trembling coming from her body.

It was what I wanted, to shame her and make her retreat, using the other children, or the false matureness that the young teenagers wanted to have, as a coil for mosquitoes.

Then I felt something warm and wet touching my palm.

I only raised a brow at the girl, who defiantly stared at me, and not only she didn't move away from the table, but she sat in front of me, getting out of the reach of my hand, and making a little angry face, who probably would have made the most cold hearted bastard coo at her.

The problem was that I wasn't only a cold hearted bastard, so the action didn't make me feel nothing more than slight amusement at how kids would be kids.

So, with that amusement fuelling my own smirk, I talked to the child, who was busy pouting angrily at me:

"Oh? Aren't you going to tap me? Strange, I thought that you found me."

The girl looked at me, still pouting, and then she shouted with that kind of voice you recognize in children, fortunately drowned by the other excited talks which happened around us:

"You know what happened yesterday! I want to know too!"

I only stared at her, my smirk still in place, while my hands were put under the table, my own lunch still inside its _bento_.

But my eyes were unfocused, and my mind was whirling between two streets:

Letting her bask in the ignorance, blessed by it, or give her knowledge of the world lit by the Moon, and dragging her, and consequently me, into it?

' _ **The biggest matter is'**_ talked the goddess inside my mind, her own tone serious: _**'That she already knows about it, or at least she is aware of its presence. It wouldn't be kind on your part to not let her know about it, but sadistic.'**_

' _Than what would you do, oh wise goddess?'_ I rebutted, my own mental voice caustic, while my eyes focused and a small snarl came into light, making the girl sat in front of me instinctively sat herself straighter, her own pout becoming a thin line, and the light in her eyes, which before was bright at her anger, dulled to something almost invisible.

I wouldn't understand the true reasons for it, because at that moment, while I noticed it, I still was discussing with the annoying voice in my mind:

' _ **I can hear you, old soul, but I won't be angered by your own pettiness. I would advise to not tell her too much, only the general explanation, and do not, in any case, tell her that she is a demigod. It would be the death for her.'**_ Voiced the goddess, a bit of concern for the mortal seeping through her tone.

Cursed by someone if I do, cursed by myself if I don't.

I sighed and, focusing my eyes at the girl, who sat even straighter and gulped at me, now that I was completely focused at her, and then I said:

"Please don't talk for a moment, I need to set up a boundary field."

I only noticed the flash of curiosity on her face, but I had already closed my eyes and I imagined the gun's hammer falling down in front of me, along with the muttered words of:

" _ **Trace on"**_

When I felt the now strangely comfortable feeling of my new Circuits heating, I pumped a bit of my produced prana on my index and started drawing three runes in a faint white light, paying attention that no-one was able to see me:

A straight vertical line with a equilateral triangle on the right side of it, the base being the line itself; this was _thurisaz_ , the rune of protection. This would be the base for the other runes.

Then in the right of this rune I wrote two other symbols, two H, one with an oblique line, the other with two, measured in a way that let me make the range of this bounded field as roughly the table were on; this was _hagalaz_ , the rune of air and tempering. This would reinforce the field and connect it with the last rune, along as the way.

A single line. Only a single, straight, vertical line. _Isa,_ rune for Ice and illusion, the last being what I wanted the bounded field to do: to show an illusion of us talking about another thing entirely.

This bounded field, coupled with the effect of this 'Mist', would have made a good bounded field even for Rin's standards.

' _ **You did good, old soul. Now lets take this bitter medication out of the way'**_ commented the goddess inside my mind, her tone both grave and…proud?

"Ehmm… Sorry if I'm disturbing you from the pretty magic, but don't you have something to say about me?" asked shyly the girl, an hand rising slightly like I was a professor.

' _Is the bounded field stable?'_ I asked the goddess, wanting to avoid any unwanted witness to this.

' _ **It's good. Stop stalling.'**_ Rebutted the voice sharply.

Another sigh made its way outside, and, without anything more to do, I started to talk:

"What you saw yesterday was a one eyed monster, kin of one enemy of Odysseus. A beast of the Moonlit world."

"Are you talking about the Cycl-HMPHH!" started to ask the girl, but I stopped her before she was able to speak the name of the monster and, while she restarted to shout inside my hand, I said seriously:

"Names have power, girl. If someone, even only an Awakened, said the true name of something deeply rooted in the Moonlit world, be it a monster or a god will make it aware of it. You don't want that kind of attention, in any case." Then I let her mouth free again, and again my hand was licked just before I made it go away.

I wasn't even fazed by it and, with my tone still emotionless, I prepared to continue my explanation, but the girl beat my words and made a barrage of questions, her eyes again bright while she voiced them:

"Wait, why are you calling me girl, aren't you a boy too? And what do you mean with 'Awakened'? What kind of gods? Greek ones? And why wouldn't I want that attention, if the-" then she stopped at the calm stare I was giving her, and it, coupled with a raised brow, made her squirm a bit and then mutter a 'sorry', letting me continue:

"About the 'girl' part, I don't know your name, so-"

"Penelope Atalanta Jackson!" she shouted, her voice bright again and her lips morphing into a megawatt smile.

I just continued to talk, like nothing happened:"-I can't use anything else as a name, sorry. Now, could you please let me continue?"

The girl looked at him like a kicked puppy, but I didn't hear any objection, so I resumed my explanation:

"The Moonlit world is where the legends came from, and there is where the Gods, which yes are Greeks, come from and have most of the power. All of this is protected from mundane eyes by the 'Mist'.

The 'Mist' is, from what I know, a phenomena birthed by the ever growing distance that humanity had from myths and religions. It's extremely powerful, and usually all the normal humans are fooled by it.

The problem is where people like you come in." at her face, which from kicked puppy had transformed into child curiosity, morphed into confusion:"You are an 'Awakened', or, as I heard some monsters call those who have the same skill _**'HEY!'**_ , a 'Clear sighted mortal'. You can see what happens into the Moonlit world, and you are under the same dangers as those who have been cursed to be born there due to some god being unable to not-."

' _ **She is a kid'**_ came the voice inside my head, amused at my belligerence against the other gods, for some reason.

' _Like I am'_ I wanted to add, but I had some other things to say, to sate her curiosity and not let her wander around and ruffing feat hers which shouldn't be even seen while making sure to not give her too much knowledge, for her own sake:"*cough*so a normal mortal would saw what you saw yesterday not as a one-eyed monster, but probably as a big, ugly man. Who probably stunk a lot as well"

The child stifled a giggle at the last part, said like it was an afterthought, then with her voice curious and her eyes lightened by it, the slight fear gone, which he could see even when she hid, in some way I couldn't understand, so well, she asked, her voice eager:"But didn't the Cyc- the bad big monster say that you were a demigod. Are you one? Do you know who your father is?"

Hmm?

Not asking about the 'another' part?

I had already prepared a good half-lie about that too.

' _ **Probably the poor girl is still shaken about what happened, and probably your own hypnotism has done something as well. I would say the first, though, being your ability with the latter rather lacking'**_ talked the voice with something akin to a teasing tone, making my brow twitch, the only variation to my otherwise apathic face.

Then, without any change to my tone, I talked:

"Yes, I'm a demigod, and yes, I have an inkling about who my divine semen donator could be."

' _ **Whoa. A bit colder and the Etna could become a glacier instead of a volcano, freezing the God and his merry band of smiths inside'**_ commented the goddess, her voice amused at my own coldness at the gods and above all their behaviour.

It was interesting to hear such thoughts coming from a Primordial, and even more if it was the one I thought she was.

' _ **Ya know that I can't give you my name, even if it is mentally, old soul. Our bond would be found out in no time, and there are some gods and above all one goddess who would be very much at home with your 'magi', so it's better to let your hypothesis to yourself.'**_ Answered my thoughts the voice, her tone calm and a bit lecturing.

I grumbled under my breath, but I accepted it nonetheless.

It was better to not attract the gods' eyes, it was true in his world and it's true in this one.

This was the reason he had created the talisman as well.

And this was the reason he was tracing one under the table.

He was jaded, not completely heartless, and he would let children be children until their _destiny_ came.

That was one of the reasons he wanted his life be finally done.

Fuck gods, goddesses and their uncontainable libido, along with their misuse of power.

"-So, can you train me?"

Hmmm?

What?

Did I hear well?

"Sorry, could you please repeat?" I asked, my steeled voice covering my own confusion and slight dread.

"Well…" the girl's eyes went down to her hands, while her voice was more than a bit insecure:"If there are monsters around, and they can hurt me, shouldn't you help me train and get stronger and kick their butts? It would be like in the movies! The hero and his sidekick!" she ended, her voice becoming excited again and her eyes eager, looking up to me again.

That carefree smile, which shown all the youthful innocence in the child, and those same green eyes, wide of wonder, didn't seem to notice my own reaction.

I could even mirror myself at that moment:

My mouth, set on a straight line;

My own face, unmoving like a statue;

My hands, clenching the talisman like it was a sword under the table;

My grey eyes, looking at her like an hawk, and not less deadly I could say;

All of this, caused by a phrase which popped up in my mind at the mention.

*I want to be an hero like you!*.

I wasn't enraged at the girl, she didn't do anything.

I was enraged at the idea that someone else could even walk on that path, and even more that I could be the one to lead her to that solitary hill.

After a few, tense moments, when I could even feel my own Circuits heating up, I declared, my voice flat:

" _No."_

Then I put the talisman I had traced on the table, a simple silver sphere with a powerful _mannaz_ rune on it, to camouflage me as a mundane, and gave it to an extremely confused girl.

"This is to make sure that you are not attacked again. Make sure to always have it with you, and don't search for me."

 _It would be better for you_.

Then, without looking back, I took my own _bento_ and walked to my own classroom, aware that the hour was gone.

' _ **Are you sure that it is the best course of action?'**_ asked the voice, concerned.

I didn't answer immediately, but the images of slaughter, of carnage, of death came into my mind.

 _Yet this hands will never hold anything._

" _Yes. It's for the best."_

 _ **Two hours and half later**_

" _Mother. You are choking me."_

This needed a bit of contextualization.

I was inside an hardware store, a medium sized hardware store, with all kind of metallic instruments, from gardening supplies to kitchenware to combat knives, some of which were produced by a small smithy in the backstore.

It wasn't big, it wasn't a chain, but it was of the Kajiya's family.

Of which my mother, who was currently smothering me, was the Smith.

"Oh, but you are always so cold, _Sochi._ I have to share my hugsies with you, if not you will become a mini glacier! Look, you already have the hair to be mistaken for a mini iceberg, so I have to hug you lotsies!" said the young looking woman with a self-satisfied tone, continuing to choke me.

This was Kajiya Misato, or Misato Kajiya in the Western way.

A woman who could pass for, both for her way of life and her appearance, a girl who has just passed high-school, even if she has had… my physical self when she was in her mid-twenties, and now she was thirty-four.

I think that she was Emiya Shirou's mother in his universe, if the similarities between my face and hers were countable.

Not something worth of thinking over.

I looked over at Narumi, who was looking at the scene amused, my eyes begging of her to do something.

Anything.

So Narumi Kajiya, this was the name of the name of the grand-mother of my physical self, a woman much similar to Misato, if only with greyed hair and much more wrinkles, talked, her voice slightly raspy while her brown eyes observed amused:

"Come on, daughter, don't you think that a growing boy could not like what you are doing?"

"Nope! He is too emo for his age, it's not healthy! So I will shower my little snowflake with all the love I have!" shouted the woman with conviction, and then she started rubbing her cheek on my hair, purring while doing so.

She was the smith version of Taiga, complete with inability to cook anything to save her life.

"Just don't overdo it, all right? I think that little Shirou wants to have his space to do his homework, and maybe to rest a bit. You remember how you were at his age, right?" said the old woman, who then went to one costumer who was looking at the scene in a mixture of amusement and confusion, like when you see your dog trying to bite its tail.

' _ **Well, it surely is as fun'**_

' _Shut up'_ I answered to the amused voice with my own annoyed tone, but I could feel that the goddess was only more amused by my answer.

"Oi, Misato!" shouted Narumi, her voice commanding even in her old age:"Fernandez-san wants to know if his knives are ready!"

"Coming!" came the answer from above my head, and finally I was freed by the press which was the hug, which was starting to annoy me.

I used that occasion given to sneak away, open the door with his keys, going to the hallway which both directed to the smithy and to the stairs which directed to the house's floor, along with an old lift a the side of those stairs.

This was a building possessed by the Kajiya's family, using the money they got after selling their activity and house, which were extremely valued at the time, just before Pearl Harbour happened, a month or so before.

Basara would have said that his father had a 'vision' that said to sell everything, because hard times were coming.

So, after the war, and after that the family of Basara, and Basara himself, were freed from the American internment camps, they had a good sum, which miraculously wasn't touched by the then government, and with that money they decided to purchase a decadent apartment building, with six floors counting the ground floor.

It was then used as a low renting flat for those Jappo-american less lucky than them who had their houses and farms taken during the detention or destroyed in the time immediately after the war.

Like the Narumi's family.

I could feel that the building had some sort of protection, along with the protection he had created, given by the fact that, even though the criminality in the neighbourhood wasn't exactly like the one in Fuyuki, and the price of renting was extremely low, no one tried to arson the building, or to rob the store, nor there weren't any mysterious (or not) fights nor grievous injury, but the goddess didn't talk about it, only giving some half-assed excuses like 'Fate' or 'Luck'.

In every case, it was during that time that Narumi and Basara encountered each other, and, in the sad '70, Misato would be born, when both the parents were thirty.

Now, thanks to a still good economic situation (which I knew wouldn't last), the flat was half empty, with only three of the ten apartment used, with one of them being ours.

So here I was, in front of the door of our apartment, after having taken the stairs, and I found it open.

I shouted inside, my voice clear, while I put my keys on Misato's copper plate:

"Oi, old man, are you sleeping?"

' _ **I bet half an hour of training that he is eating.'**_ Quipped the goddess, her voice clear, and I nodded at the bet.

"Brat, I'm in the kitchen!" came the voice of Basara, his rumbling voice coming a bit clogged.

This was the tone of someone who was eating.

' _ **Now you have half an hour less of training today.'**_ Said the smug goddess, her tone more than bit pleased at herself.

I only grumbled when I made my way to the kitchen, having taken off my shoes as tradition dictated.

"Hello, brat!" shouted the man, and I was (un)expectedly taken up in a bear hug when I entered the fifty/sixty styled room.

I suffered silently the extremely too warm welcome.

' _ **Ooh, look at how similar is the reaction of your mother and your grandfather upon your return! Same exact!'**_ giggled the goddess inside my head, even more entertained by what was happening.

My only reaction was a deep growl meaning 'Shut up!', or as much deep my nine years old body could produce.

It was true that Misato took her personality completely from Basara, like she took her features from Narumi.

So it wasn't that strange that now I was being choked.

Unpleasant, but not strange.

Then:

"OW! My back!" came the pained booming voice from above, and the old man let me finally go and went to sit down on a multiple shaded chair, which creaked slightly when the one meter and ninety for one hundred and ten kilos of Japanese bear was on it.

After a few moments, in which the old man was moaning in pain and rubbing his back, I talked, my voice faintly amused even if it didn't show in my eyes nor on my lips:

"I don't think that you are in the condition of rising anything else than a sandwich, old man".

"Damnit, brat! I just came back with the groceries for the whole building from New Jersey and let me say that it was freaking hard!" was the response of the old bald man, who, despite the words, was openly smiling behind the thick white beard, his back pain being momentarily forgotten at the tale of his heroic deed of taking the fresh food (not that chemical substances which were passed off as food in East Harlem) for the other people in the building, along those for the Kajiya.

I successfully tried to imitate his smile and then, with my voice filled with innocence, or as much innocent I could do it, I asked:

"Oi Jiji, can I go on the roof to do my homework? It's almost summer and the weather is good now."

I could see Basara's smile flatten, and his eyes were no longer twinkling, while his whole appearance became much more serious.

Then he talked, the voice losing its childishness:

"Shirou" I twitched at the mention of _that_ name, but the old man didn't notice it:"I know that you feel more mature than the other children. Damn, you _are_ more mature than the other children, if what your teachers say is true. Probably you took it from your Ba-chan, because neither I nor my daughter were ever that mature. But you can't think only about it. You are young, after all. You should treasure these times while you still can."

I knew that this was masqueraded as a normal lesson given to a young child, but I also knew that they were aware of who my sperm donor was.

' _ **They know that you will have to fight for your life sooner or later. For them, you are still the young boy who shouted at night for food, and the one who they saw grow up. Could you really fault them for trying to make your childhood as carefree as possible?'**_ talked the primordial inside his head, her tone kind and understanding at what would be something good for me.

Unfortunately, I didn't want it. I didn't need it. I didn't deserve it.

I only needed that training to reach my sixteenth birthday, and then all of this would finally end.

"But Jiji," I said, my voice still as innocent as I could while I made my eyes as much similar to the puss in boots as possible:"There are still some exams I have to do, and I don't want to lower my grades just before the summer's holydays."

The old man remained strong for the great time of three seconds, before sighing and accepting:

"Ok, you can go and do your homework, and I will try to let you do it without your mother and grandmother trying to disturb you."

I was already bolting out, but before I could go out of the kitchen I heard him saying in a calm tone:

"But, when the summer holydays come, you will have to go to the kids park and make friends, and an adult will be with you every time."

I frowned for a moment, irritation seeping through my façade for a second's portion, but I was able to reign it immediately and I nodded, my face mimicking an happy child, while my tone was one of false irritation:

"Ooookkaaay, Jiji. Now I will go!".

Then I bolted outside, like a child of this age would do, taking my bag on the way, but I was able to hear the last phrase when I was getting out of the flat:

"If you need me I am down here cleaning the house!"

' _ **Remember, today you have half an hour less of training. So two hours and half. If you will train more than that, I will make sure that you have nightmares about your mother's cooking.'**_ Warned the goddess, her voice as threatening as the threat itself.

I just huffed at the 'threat', I had done and seen worse things.

'… _ **You know that they are doing it for your own wellbeing, right? They are good people.'**_ Said the voice, her tone letting seep through something akin to concern.

I continued climbing the stairs, and then, my mental tone tired, I answered:

' _This is why I need to stay away from them as much as possible. My own presence could spell doom on them, like it happened countless times before and after my guardianhood. Even if they will be sad by my own death, it will be much better than being cursed by my own selfishness.'_

' _ **I wouldn't call what you did 'selfishness','**_ said the voice, her tone strong: _ **'It could be called 'Hardheadedness'. It could be called 'survivor guilt'. It could be called 'selflessness'. It could be called even heroism. It was**_ _ **hero-'**_

' _Don't call what I did heroism!'_ I almost openly shouted, but I was able to only growl while ascending, my steps becoming far more louder along with my anger _: 'It was hubris! It was foolishness! It was pure selfishness! And that selfishness didn't only spell doom to me, but even to those that I cared about! Like_ you. Already. _Know! So don't press that button again,_ Primordial _, because it's only due to your own brand of selfishness that the curse that is my own presence still roams this world, instead of being erased like it should be!'_

I breathed heavily, even if my body didn't feel any exhaustion, then I declared, my voice tired:

' _Just… I just want for those people the best, and for them the best is for me to not being around anymore, to avoid my own curse. So… don't try to sway me. It would only be pathetic.'_

The goddess remained silent for some moments, the only thing which made noise now being the steps on the stairs, then she talked, her voice calm on the surface:

' _ **I understand. I don't like it, nor accept it, but I understand. Now lets get this training done, I want to see some pincushions.'**_

I nodded, feeling drained at my earlier outburst, and I climbed the last set of stairs, before finding myself in front of a thick, white door, with an equally hard keyhole.

I took my own keys and opened it.

It was a dusty, dirty roof, long around fifty meters and wide forty **(AN: 165 feet long, and 130 wide)** , with a metal box in a corner, where the backup junction boxes were.

There was nothing particular about this particular roof but the hundreds of numbers written in white chalk.

For the Mundanes, that is.

If someone was able to look at the other's side, then that person would notice the hundreds of small runes which were etched on the low walls that limited the building to the concrete floor to the walls of the entrance, filling the whole air around with tens of different aromas, from flowery to ozone to fresh snow to just spilled blood.

Then I put both my hands on the ground, just in front of the door, and, while feeling my circuits heating up and my hammer falling down, I muttered:

" _ **Trace on."**_

Those which before were just a resemblance, a pale shadow of fragrance and smell, exploded, rose up, became stronger and much more vivid, like a blooming flower, a spark becoming fire, a trickle before the flood.

This was my own workshop, and what I had just activated were its defences.

From runes like the ones I had used in the school, to runes which reinforced the building, to runes which helped training, to runes which created bloody deathmatch.

Sometimes the mutt was more useful than I wanted to say.

And I was the one who created it, following every teaching given by _every_ Rin, Sakura or Bazzet in the multiverse.

This was both a defence system, and an epitaph for them.

' _ **Less reminiscing the past, more looking into the future, old soul.'**_ Called out the goddess, her tone annoyed at me: _ **'I don't think that's useful to yourself if you don't use this time to train yourself.'**_

I sighed, knowing that she was right.

It was incredibly amusing though: I was training to become stronger so I could reach my sixteenth year and then die.

Hilarious.

Then, with a deep breath, I summoned my own black bow, its length remaining the same despite my own physical form, and then I said:

' _Give the numbers.'_

 _ **Two hours and a quarter later**_

' _ **One hundred, thirteen, sixty two, seventy four, twenty five, three, thirty one!'**_

 _*Ding**Ding**Ding**Ding**Ding**Ding**Ding*_

The moment the goddess gave the numbers, a penny was traced a meter above the numbers where they were written, and, in that same moment, the same number of arrows flew true and through, exactly in the centre of them.

I remained in position for a few moments, then I lowered the bow and exhaled, my muscles only now feeling a bit tired, after a few hundreds of shots.

' _ **Your Reinforcement is good, old soul. I would say that you are physically reaching your peak when you were a Servant.'**_ Commented the goddess, proud for some reason, but I was reflecting about my own performances.

It was something incredible.

While my Magical abilities had worsened a lot after my own reincarnation, due to reason I already talked about, my own physical part had become much more prominent.

Now all my statistics were probably around the D- rank with Reinforcement, something unheard for all mortals in my own world but the strangest and most powerful Enforcers or Executors.

In normal terms, now I could probably lift a town car, run at an hundred kilometres an hour for minutes without tiring, survive bullets with only my skin as protection.

I had not tested completely my limits, but in Summer I would be able to take some time to try them.

But now I could only use the runes, while making sure to _not_ damage my own body due to overuse of the muscles and regret it down the road.

But that left me a lot of time to train my own brand of Magecraft, and talking about that…

 _I needed to try that._

" _ **Trace on: Judging the concept of creation."**_

 _It was a scabbard, a splendid scabbard, made by the powers of nature themselves._

" _ **Hypothesizing the basic structure."**_

 _It was given as a protection for a sword as much, if not more, marvellous sword._

" _ **Duplicating the composition material."**_

 _But it wasn't just a protection for a sword, oh no._

" _ **Imitating the skill of its making."**_

 _The bearer himself wouldn't fear any grievous injury while having it._

" _ **Sympathizing with the experience of its growth."**_

 _Its name made this sword feel humbled, its memory made this sword feel sombre._

" _ **Reproducing the accumulated years."**_

 _Its name was Avalon. The Everdistant Utopia. The scabbard of Excalibur. Her scabbard._

My eyes were closed while tracing that Noble Phantasm, but the feeling of familiarity and warmth filled me while the scabbard I had in my own inner world was copied into the material world.

' _ **Every time I see it, I feel like the first: I've never seen anything like this in this world. Even the Asclepius's staff pale in front this scabbard. It really makes me remember of how powerful you really are, old soul.'**_ Commented the goddess, her voice both amazed and humbled for some reason.

' _It's still not perfect. Much better than the first time I made it, and this broken world help, but it doesn't reach the original by a long shot.'_ I answered, my own tone technical and calm, while I was now inspecting the scabbard both with my now open eyes and with my Structural Analysis.

It was, at not adept eyes, completely identical with the real Avalon, from its golden metal to its azure details to its Fae runes on the front.

But I could see the differences.

"I'm not able to surpass that threshold." I muttered, noticing that, while Gaia wasn't eating away the traced object, it was much less powerful than the real deal.

I would say around the twenty percent of the original Avalon.

Not noticeable with less powerful Noble phantasms, but a stark difference when it's an high ranked one.

It was like this for almost all my weapons but Kanshou and Bakuya, those last ones due to my familiarity with them.

And it was damning irritating, because in this world I would think that my weapons would be as powerful as their originals, not much less.

"Damn. I can't understand why it's like this. Maybe it's because these weapons are not from this world? Or because of something else?" I was now completely taken by trying to find the reason of this problem.

' _ **Could it be because you still can't summon your own inner world? If it was the different world then your own then your favourite blades would be too weakened, and they are not. But you have problems at summoning your Reality Marble, and it's the only big difference I can find between you and your peak self.'**_ Considered the primordial, her tone unsure and concerned.

' _It could be… but the only problem I have is summoning it, not the weapons. I don't think that it's that the matter. But it doesn't hurt to try it.'_ I pondered, my own tone reflective.

'… _ **Then lets try it again. But pay attention, the last time it came too close to an unrecoverable mistake , so if I say to stop, you will stop.'**_ Accepted the goddess, while her voice was hard as steel.

I only nodded and, after having put the traced Avalon beside me so it could cure my wounds if that happened again, I closed my eyes.

It had passed only one month since I had tried to summon my own Reality Marble, after I was sure that no-one would be able to sense what happened, for the first and only time: Unlimited Blade Works.

It was a complete failure.

Not only I was unable to summon it, but it backfired, with swords coming out of my body and liquid fire flowing out of those wounds, which were cured only due to all the healing objects that I had in my Marble.

It could have gone worse if I had died and forcibly resurrected by the goddess, and it would have been noticed by the Gods, and most of them Ades, someone I didn't want to be on his bad side.

That would have spelled eternal punishment, and not being able to finally erase myself.

So someone could say _'Why are you doing this? Wouldn't it make you become some kind of beacon?'_

Yes, it's true. But I needed to have an overwhelming weapon in case that some kind of being was able to find and corner me in a mortal situation.

If I used the Marble, it could be masqueraded for a time, and even pass unobserved if I was lucky.

If I died, I already said what would happen.

So I had to be able to summon my own Noble Phantasm.

Even if it was dangerous to do so. Not like it had ever stopped me.

I inhaled deeply, and, with my voice deep and my Circuits warming in my body, I started chanting:

" _ **I'm the Bone of my sword."**_

 _This was a barren wasteland, filled with bloodied and broken weapons._

" _ **Steel is my body and Fire is my blood."**_

 _The only thing which illuminated that miserable graveyard was an almost set sun, red and cold._

" _ **I have created over a thousand Blades."**_

 _Red dust flew around, rose by those words of power, clinging to the swords like liquid._

" _ **Unknown to Death, nor known to Life."**_

 _Above that land of death, almost hidden by red clouds, tens and tens of cogs descended, like gravity had finally come._

" _ **I have withstood pain to create many weapons."**_

 _Those cogs were reddened by the rust, those cogs were agened by the broken soul._

" _ **Yet these hands will never hold anything."**_

 _Such an hopeful sword shattered, such a sharp soul abandoned._

" _ **So as I pray:"**_

 _And, in that moment, finally those cogs collided with the earth._

" _ **Unlimited Blade Wor-GAHH!"**_

 _And that wretched world remained in that wretched soul._

' _ **EMIYA-KUN!'**_

 _And, while the old sword was falling in the warm embrace of darkness, it could almost hear its old lover screaming before the noose, despairing._

…

…

 _ **The day after. At school.**_

 _Ahi. Ahi. Ahi. Ahi._

It happened again.

Now I was like a mummy, and the only saving grace was my own long sleeved shirt and jeans, which saved a lot of awkward questions.

' _ **If you had heed to my words when I said to stop then you wouldn't have injured yourself again.'**_ Said the goddess frostly, making me shiver like it was winter again.

But it didn't deter me to do this comeback, while walking out of the school and controlling the Traced bandages and their runes:

' _Oh, are you concerned about me, oh great goddess? I didn't know that little old me had stroke your heart true.'_

' _ **Concerned about a mad, uncouth, idiotic man that I have cursed on a path that he didn't want? What would give to you this idea?'**_ shot back the goddess, her tone angered and yet so sad.

I slowed down minutely, and my face twitched a bit, then, with a tone that I hadn't used in a long time, I talked in my head:

' _It seems that I have wronged you greatly with my actions. I apologise for them.'_

' _ **In every case you would do it again, wouldn't you?'**_ accused the goddess, deceptively calm.

I only smirked at that.

The goddess sighed and after a few seconds, in which we had gone out of the school and were in the schoolyard, with a false depressed tone, she said:

' _ **Oh, whatever did I do to have to help this mortal? I only did something wrong in millions of years and now I'm struck with a sword-for-brains. O woe me!'**_

' _O woe you? O woe me! It isn't you who could be mistaken as a moony for talking with himself!'_ I bounced back, my smirk remaining.

' _ **Oh? So you don't like having the awesome goddess with you, old sword? Maybe you are a bit too rusted for my incredible self.'**_ Came back the goddess with pride and amusement in equal amount.

' _It's a bit difficult to know how awesome you are when you don't even give your name, o great goddess.'_ I joked back, my tone teasing and sarcastic.

' _ **Look, it's little Penelope there who is stalking towards you.'**_ Commented the goddess, changing the subject abruptly and awkwardly.

' _I can understand that you don't want to give your name, bu-'_ I was starting to say, then a child's voice came from behind me with an incredible strength:

" _Train me!"_

Why didn't I sense that freaking sea hurricane coming from behind me?

Oh yeah, I had given her the talisman.

Wait, even better: why couldn't she understand the meaning of no?

I quickly activated some privacy runes before all went to hell and then answered with my favourite word:

"No." I answered calmly, now walking in the direction of my home, without stopping nor calculating her.

"Why?!" shouted the girl now beside me, her green eyes peering into mine from her slightly smaller frame.

"Because I don't want to. Hasn't it been taught to you to not make others do things they don't accept to do?" I asked, my voice tinged with a bit of amusement as my lips morphed into a sarcastic smirk from the much softer one I had before.

"But why don't you want to train me?" asked the girl again, her tone accusing while her eyes were trying to bore into me from the side.

It only made me more annoyed.

*Can you train me in Magecraft, please?*

And in turn that made me more than a bit angry.

So, when the girl put herself between me and my way, stopping me on my tracks while a small river of humans flowed around us, unconcerned and taken with their lives.

I only stared into her eyes.

She froze, her eyes became wide, her breath quickened, her Mediterranean complexion became much paler, and I could feel even the air around form some small drips of water.

I noticed all those things and finally understood what those instinctual actions meant.

That only steeled myself. I couldn't add my own cursed self to that.

I sighed for a moment, and then I said, my tone deceptively calm and my eyes penetrating into hers like daggers:

"I can't train you. I don't want to train you. I will not train you. Do not try to move me, it will only annoy me more."

The girl's eyes were starting to water while looking down, and her fists were trembling, but I continued, ruthless:

"You can live a good life if you will stay outside of this. I can only give you death, hatred and despair for you and your loved ones. So please," my tone became begging, so much was my desire to _not let someone be drowned by my own ideals_ :"please don't ask me to train you. You have that talisman, if you don't go into my side of the world you will be left alone, and you will live a good, long, fulfilling life. If you go into my side, instead of becoming an hero, you will only find those things that I said, and even worse. Just forget about me and what happened, and you will be good."

I was tired, so, so _tired_.

I could almost fall asleep at that moment.

" _I don't want."_

It was so small, so feeble, so low that it would be impossible for almost anyone to hear.

Then she rose her head and, with her green eyes a bit reddened and her nose runny, she declared, her voice watery:

"I said that I don't want to not train! I don't want to forget about anything! I don't want to let something that could help my mama go away! And even if you don't help me, I will find a way to do it!" Then she run against me, knocking me out of the way, and she went away, passing through the passer-by's, who continued with their lives none the wiser.

I remained there numb for some moments, then I leaned against the wall on my side and exhaled slowly, my eyes closing and the loud noises of the big Apple softening around.

Alone in a bursting city.

Happy to have made a young girl cry.

How much twisted was I?

'… _ **You are approaching this in the wrong way, old soul.'**_ Commented the goddess suddenly.

I didn't move nor even twitch, but I asked, tired:

' _Do you mean by avoiding to give to the girl the same curse that was passed to me by that man? Or maybe do you mean that I should have cursed her for a lonely death?'_

' _ **If your end was to avoid that destiny, then you have failed.'**_ Said the primordial, her tone calm in its finality.

' _What do you mean.'_ I asked, my tone suddenly active and my eyes open.

' _ **If your end was for the girl to not walk your path, then what you did was one of the worst way to do it.'**_ The primordial said with a frigid and surgical serenity.

I didn't have that same calmness:

' _Explain!'_

I could almost feel the goddess grin when she talked for some reason:

' _ **Didn't you think about it? You are letting her walk that path alone, and for demigods being alone means death. Even for the trained ones it means so, and those don't have that kind of parents behind them, nor do they have the king of the Underworld automatically against them. Adding to that, you are not stopping her from following your path of 'heroism', in fact you are strengthening her will of walking it alone. What you did was foolish, old soul, but not irredeemable at least.'**_

' _What should I do then, teach her? Make the same mistake that Kiritsugu did?'_ I snarled, my tone becoming angry and filled with my own hatred.

' _ **Yes. Teach to her how to fight. Teach to her how to think tactically. Teach to her how to weight her life with the life of those around her. I think that you are able to do so, or at least some of the 'yous' are able to.'**_

*Sempai!*

An headache hit me hit me, and a growl escaped my lips when that thrice damned word hit me, while the wall on my back made sure that I didn't fall over.

But the goddess wasn't done:

' _ **Teach her how to use her powers. Teach her how to use her magic. Teach her how to know about herself. Teach her about yourself. Teach her how to not walk your own path.'**_ Ended the goddess, her voice final.

"I…I…" I was still attached on that wall, my sheer stupidity hitting me like a truck, while a cold feeling came into my guts.

I gulped and, with a voice that I never heard even in my mind, I asked:

' _Will you help me?'_

' _ **You have two streets in front of you. Decide which one you will walk on but know this: I will follow you and be with you if you want to have me. Always.'**_

I closed my eyes and sighed.

It seemed like I would have to show more than I wanted in this world.

I smirked.

Damn my E ranked Luck.

 _It seems like I will have to find my new apprentice._

 _ **Twenty minutes of searching later**_

" _Well, at least it's not like ereyesterday."_

I had found her, after having become a hound for what felt like hours.

If I knew it would have happened then I would have taken out Gàe Bolg and be done with much less time.

Even if I think that I would have died due to the salty corpse's smell.

A few runes after, and I was talking to a black haired girl who was rocking aimlessly over a swing:

"So here we are, in a playground in east Harlem, the great one hundred and third, with its concrete and its splendid visual to a muddy river. Which is probably contaminated as well. And we are here, swinging on-"

"What do you want?" asked abruptly the young girl, her head not moving from watching that muddy river.

I only continued to smirk, and, trying to maintain my tone as jovially as possible, I said:

"Well, I thought that I could bargain a deal with you, about the training."

"And why" continued the young girl, without missing a beat:"Would you choose to do this after you decided to not train me for two times?"

Bullshit time!

"The first reason I did so because you asked in such a rude way, totally unfitting for such demand." I said, trying to channel my own inner Gilgamesh.

I would need a lot of soap for my own mouth.

"The second reason was because you didn't give me anything as an exchange." I continued, my voice taking a greedy undertone while I stared at the side of her head.

This needs to be explained: I wasn't asking some payment because I was greedy, but I needed some way to make her more trustful.

If someone who has something you want came under your home and gave it as a present after refusing to give it to you, would you really trust them?

If you trusted them, then you are a fool.

"Then what do you want to train me." Asked the girl, turning and looking at me with her green…hazel eyes?

' _ **It seems that her connection with the fish god is deeper than I thought if only the nearness with a river makes her change colour of her eyes.'**_ Commented the goddess, and I could hear some sense of urgency in her words.

It seemed that this girl would be a trouble magnet.

"I'm in need of an apprentice, not a sidekick. You will follow my own orders, and if I say to not do something, you will not do it. Everything you learn won't be said to anyone without my explicit acceptance, and we will work with my rhythm, so don't ask me anything I don't want to say. If you accept, tomorrow I will give you a magical contract, a Geass, which will make sure that everything will be respected by both parts." I listed, my tone calm while my smirk remained in place.

It wouldn't look so bad of a deal, but she would give me something, and that would lower her barriers.

All according to the plan.

The girl stared at me, but I remained calm and bored into her own eyes, making sure to not move them and, finally, she took her hand from the chains and prepared it for an handshake:

"My mum has always said that to accept a deal you have to shake both hands. I will not regret this deal, but you still have not said your name."

Ops. I forgot about that.

Welp, I could as well present myself:

" _My birth name is Shirou Kajiya, and you, Penelope Atalanta Jackson, will spit blood when we will train you."_

 _ **Author notes**_

 _ **CIAOOOO!**_

 _ **How was this chapter, good, bad?**_

 _ **Now, before I answer the reviews (yeaahhh!), I will ask to the americans readers one thing:**_

 _ **Could you please review or PM me about the courses you did at school? As in the program? Because I can't find them.**_

 _ **Then I will apologise to the New Yorkers if my images of their city wasn't so true to the reality, but I worked on articles and logic, being our cities**_ **slightly** _ **different.**_

 _ **Every correction is happily accepted. Now Reviews!**_

 _ **PS: I will answer to those reviews who esplicitely ask something or are long.**_

 **Angry Mango: I will try to do it, but I'm still a greenie at writing, but I will try my best.**

 **Qrow454: I know, but that was for…dramatic sense *Cue deep voice***

 **VN-Novels: Kekekeke… I will let you translate these laughs…Kekekeke.**

 **Lilmonix: hopefully now is corrected, thanks for the correction (I didn't know about that grammar law).**

 **: it depends if it flows with the story.**

 **Logron (and for all of those who said too much swearing from archer): I don't think that Archer wouldn't do it. We have seen that when something doesn't go his way, then he sometimes loses it badly.**

 **Ander warrior: mi sento così realizzato per aver fatto così tanto incazzare un altro italiano. O Veneto. Forse. Vabbé. Continua a legge' la storia!**

 _ **Now let me add a little something before I close this AN.**_

 _ **All the hypothesis you wrote about the goddess…are wrong.**_

 _ **MWAHAHAHA!**_

 _ ***Cough***_

 _ **Now, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR e CIAOOOO**_

 _ **REVIEW, FOLLOW AND FLAME!**_

 _ **Next update: The Return of the Grey king. After that, another chapter of God of Swords.**_


	3. Chapter 2: The Preparations of a sword

_**HALLLLLLLLOOOOO!**_

 _ ***schiva una stele egizia* I am always prepared for you, rememeber.**_

 _ **Now now, I know I was slightly *CoughCoughTwosomethingmonths* late, but I have an excuse!**_

 _ **Which I can't say, but I have it!**_

 _ **But, before you read the chapter, I want to thank whoever has critized me for the previous chapter.**_

 _ **Even if I can't always put what you wrote into the chapters I put, I really thank you for trying to make me become better as a writer.**_

 _ **But now, on with the Chatper!**_

 _ **GOD OF SWORDS: HOW A SWORD IS FORGED**_

 _ **CHAPTER TWO: THE PREPARATIONS OF A SWORD**_

 _I didn't think this through._

Maybe it was my own rashness, that remained even after those eons of serving as a Counter Guardian.

Maybe it was because I could see some of myself in this girl, and I didn't want another one walking in that hateful path.

Maybe it was caused by my own guilt, which had followed me like a cloud since I was cursed to be reborn in this world.

' _ **Didn't I already apologize for it?'**_

Maybe it was caused by the meddling of that same goddess.

' _ **Oi.'**_

Or maybe it was better to say by her idiocy.

' _ **Oi!.'**_

Unfortunately for me, being angered at her would have been as useful as spitting to the sky in spite.

It would only have come back into my eyes, with the other outcome of having lost an ally in an useless hatred, which would have left me in a dimension that I didn't know.

' _ **Oh, so you care about me!'**_

An annoying, selfish, idiotic, too much powerful ally, who, while being able to avoid that my desire of being erased was completely blocked, still did so without my acceptance.

'… _ **I'm sorry.'**_

' _You already said it several times, saying it more will not help unfortunately.'_

But in every case, it wasn't the 'why' the great question.

The great question was 'what'.

As in _'Now what would happen?'_ and _'What do I have to do?'._

The only sure thing was that the kid and I would have asked (and I did ask this afternoon) to our mothers if the kid could go to our house to play two days after.

They would go and talk with each other and most likely accept.

Not an elegant way to do it, but that was the way a kid would have used.

But the reaction of my 'mother' when I asked…

*shudder*

She had never been this passionate since the time I asked her to go to the medieval warfare museum.

So here I was, looking at the roof of my room unable to sleep, the darkness lit up by a light on my desk, reflecting about my own situation and preparing for the fallouts which will have to come.

Because I knew my luck, and it would have come to bite my ass sooner or later. Much more probably sooner.

' _ **What a depressing thought to have, don't you think?'**_

' _Not less true. Now I have in my hands a child who practically is a Prana beacon, who could expose me to the world and kill herself. Then I have the problem that she is a completely untrained child who will need to be trained to not be said Prana beacon. A wrong step and she becomes a morsel for monsters, and I become a pet for gods. Then there is the matter of_ what _I have to teach her: teaching her how to handle weapons will not be that difficult for me, after having used the weapons of heroes themselves and being able to copy a part of their ability; training her to fight monster will not be difficult at all, if they were beaten by heroes, for the same reason; but training her at the use of Thaumaturgy? My own being undermine that, and I can only start with the foundations. Then it will be her own path to walk, if she doesn't destroy the tracing of the amulet, that is.'_ I mentally explained, my own tone tired while with my fingers I traced the runes etched on the silver sphere, hundreds of them carved with Magecraft on a five centimetres of diameter object, some being reinforcement for the sphere itself, others being runes to recognize the deactivating and activating Arias, but most strengthening the reversed M in the middle which made my own signature as similar to a mundane as possible if I didn't use my most powerful weapon, even though my own Prana output was a bit sacrificed for it to work.

That bit depended on how much I used that, of course.

A piece of art made with the knowledge of thousands of Shirous Emiya's selves, along with the help of an eons old entity, which took four months of planning and two hundreds and forty hours to materially fabricate.

The problem was that it was adjusted to _my_ signature, to _my_ prana output, not to someone else's.

' _ **You think that she will destroy it?'**_ asked the goddess, her tone not surprised at my own hypothesis.

' _The problem of this amulet is that it was created to contain my own power when I was unable to control it with only my own training. It's a crutch, an help, not a complete shield. It can't stop a greater source of Prana than it was designed for, it can only masquerade it to an extent before it's too much and it will simply go into overheating. Even less can do a Projection of it. At least if it will fail she won't be in danger due the amulet itself.'_

And how much better it was than my first time it went badly, during a test in which I Traced high ranked Noble Phantasms to see how much it could shoulder before failing.

A burning hot piece of metal directly on my chest wasn't something which I wanted to feel again, thank you.

' _So, if we are unlucky, and, knowing myself, we will be, the girl will be much more able than me Prana wise.'_

' _ **So the problem is that the Projection of the amulet you gave to her isn't powerful enough to block the Prana's flux coming from Penelope? Couldn't you just not activate her Circuits at all and not train her on Magecraft?'**_ askedthe goddess, curious.

' _And wait for a catastrophic event in which she activates them unconsciously while fighting some monster and become something like a flame for a moths' flock? There are better ways to kill someone, much less painful and more human than being eaten by some vengeful entity.'_ I answered, my tone flat.

While the amulet wasn't the best I could offer, it was much better than nothing.

It's like having an helmet on a bike: if you go against a car you die in every case, but if you just fall down with it you probably will live to tell the story.

And not training the girl about Magecraft was out of the question.

Or at least the bases of Magecraft, control and such.

If she didn't have it and activated her circuits with monster nearby, or if she activated them and used her power without training…

I was nothing more than a cursed corpse, and I wished nothing more than my demise to finally end that curse, but I wasn't so heartless to let a little girl walk on it, or die trying.

No-one deserved that destiny, even less a child.

' _ **It does seem a bleak scenario, old soul, but I think that you will be able to help the young child.'**_ Commented the goddess, her voice half understanding the gravity of the situation, and half hopeful at my own abilities of teacher.

I snorted, filled with black amusement, and continued my own thoughts, logical and surgical:

' _It would already be, if I had more than seven years to train her; in seven years I will have to train from the ground up a child in weaponship, Magecraft and knowledge, both about her enemies and her 'allies', if we can call the gods that. All while keeping it secret from the Kajiya's family and her mother as well, while doing all of this under their nose, and having less than optimal time to teach her. With this much time and amount of training to do it would be a miracle having prepared her for what will happen.'_

' _ **Hmmm?'**_ was the sound which came from the goddess, like she didn't know what I was talking about.

I wasn't impressed by it, but I left them for me and I ended my thoughts:

' _If an 'horrible change' is coming, I will need to have her ready to fight for herself and not drown. Or at least to be able to resist for the next month and not make all the block die.'_

Neither by those foolish ideals nor by a monster's hand.

And if our hypothesis was right…

' _ **That's good. The girl could be an important piece in the incoming battle, and she will surely be able to fight against the forces of evil; But are you sure that you will be pleased by it?'**_ asked the goddess with a strange tone, something between concerned and something else…which was very similar to… sadness?

' _What do you mean?'_ I asked in turn, confused by both the question and the tone.

' _ **Do you really want to live the burden of being a warrior to a little girl, who will kill and slay without anyone to sustain her?'**_ explained the goddess, her voice the same as before.

I didn't say anything.

Maybe only some minutes passed.

 _*There was such a man, once.*_

Maybe those were only seconds, or even fractions of them.

But _those_ came.

 _Those_ , which happened all because of my own desire:

 _*A desert, a tundra, a mountain, a plain, at dawn, at dusk, during the day and night, with fresh air or the thickest smoke in my lungs, with dry grass under my feet or snow, with Egyptian, Cretan, Latin, English, Japanese screams coming in front of me._

 _Those were the differences._

 _The ferrous taste in my mouth, the cold warmth of my hands, the slippery stickiness of the lymph, the noises of tens, hundreds, thousands of running people, men and women, children and elders, slaves and kings, beggars and merchants, innocent and guilty, all run and screamed the same way._

 _Fearful._

 _Terrified._

 _And I was the reason, the source, the_ Evil _who was_ _slaughtering pregnant women, slaying children, killing the innocent._

 _Because I wished to be_ _a Counter guardian. Because I desired to be an hero. Because I thought that saving everyone without thinking of myself or those that I cared for was right._

 _What a fool I was. What an idiot I was. What a cretin I was._

 _Was this the ideal I strived for? Was this what Rin tried to shield me from? Was this the desire of my father?_

 _Emiya Kiritsugu, did you know about this hell and didn't stop me from trying to reach it?_

" _It's all your fault!" shouted a voice, young and insulting, coming from an eyeless, white haired corpse who was grinning at him while black blood came down from her eyes._

 _I tried to save everyone!_

" _It's all your fault!" shouted another voice, soft and suffering, coming from a red eyed, white haired girl, who was smirking at him while being devoured by her own shadow._

 _I didn't want it to end like this!_

" _It's all your fault!" shouted yet another voice, authoritarian and cold, coming from a black armoured king, who was looking at him without an ounce of emotion in her yellow eyes while a wound on her heart let blood gush out._

 _It wasn't what I desired!_

" _It's all your fault!"_

 _That voice was!_

 _Not her!_

 _All but her!_

 _I only curled up in a ball, my swords still bloody, my eyes still weeping, my heart now cold as a weapon._

 _I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry...!*_

' _ **Shhhh. Just let go and cry. This time I am here. I'm sorry for my words, but this time I'm here.'**_

I… I…

That… was one of my worst episodes.

I put my head into the pillow, curling myself into a ball and trying to breath rhythmically and calm myself and, aftersome hours of calming exercises, I was finally able to shut my eyes.

 _And so, with the sounds of death and slaughter and the images of corpses and blood, the bloodied sword slept._

 _ **The day after, At school, almost the end of the lessons**_

" _What an horrible night."_

That… was one hell of a night.

I didn't want to think about it, but it was somewhat concerning that it happened.

' _ **You are stressed, old soul. Probably caused by the recent events. My words were much probably the trigger for your attack to start, and for them I apologise.'**_ Her tone was truly regretful, something that I still couldn't wrap my head around.

But those opinions I had were safely protected outside of the bond, and I only answered with an amused false concern to divert her attention:

' _Are you all right? I didn't think that you could apologise this many times to a low cur like me, so are you sick? Do you feel lightheaded? Cold? A bit of shivers?'_

' _ **Hmmph! If it's this your response to my kindness, then you are well!'**_ was the annoyed answer coming from the powerful entity, who I left grumbling in the back of my head, without understanding my ulterior motive, while (not) paying attention to the lesson and (not) taking notes about the lesson and (not) reading the book in front of me.

Which would be _extremely_ useful in a third grade year.

If I wasn't a grown man with multiple selves in my memories.

And even if I didn't have them, I still wouldn't be paying attention, so much was the sheer _boredom_ in the teacher's voice, who wanted this day to end just as much as the squirming children around me, who were looking at the clock on top of the teacher not so covertly, along with the young woman who was, just as covertly, looking at her wrist watch.

Then the bell came, and along it came the excited shouts of the young boys and girls, who had prepared their bags in a chaotic hastiness, which left books with ears and ripped papers, while the teacher shouted in the confusion, already beside the door:

"Have a good weekend children!"

And she run out.

She was faster to get out than a classroom of children.

I didn't know if I had to be impressed by the speed, which was surely impressing.

At least I wouldn't be disturbed by some noisy brat who wanted to be the top dog.

And in every case I had other things to think about, while following the horde of little Hunns.

Like the upcoming training I had to impart.

Or about what exactly reveal to her and what to not, for my and her own sake.

Or even how to make her trust me; I wasn't so fool to think that she even had one spec of trust in me, and my own way wasn't… exactly… the best way I could make her my own apprentice.

' _ **You practically used the first thing came to your mind, so much you were concerned for her. It was something so-'**_ I was going to interrupt the goddess from her teasing tone with my own irritated one, but she continued amused: _ **'-Cute! What you did was so cute that I would have eaten you!'**_

' _Cute?'_ I countered sarcastic, trying to take my mind out of that word _: 'I would call it 'disastrous', but if you call it 'cute' lets go with that.'_

' _ **It did work, didn't it? If something is stupid but it works, it ain't stupid. So stop moping!'**_ came the grinning voice of the goddess, who was trying to cheer me up and distract me from what happened.

It was too forceful, too clumsy to be natural.

But I let the lie live, so my mind wouldn't be so taken by the past.

Then, when I was around the exit, I smelt two thaumaturgical signatures, different and distinct.

One, I already knew of, now at least a bit controlled and muffled in such a way that it wouldn't call monster from the whole state.

Maybe.

If she didn't explode.

But was the other that made me stop for a moment, confused.

It did have the same stench that the girl had, maybe stronger, but there was something under it.

Something which I had already smelt before.

* _Sempai!*_

I minutely flinched at the memory, but I knew what was that odour.

 _Ether._

' _How did I not notice that?'_ I asked inside the bond, both annoyed by my own incompetence and concerned that I could have missed a thaumaturgical signature in a place that I was in every day, while trying to pinpoint where they came from and walk towards it.

' _ **The scent it has is eerily similar to a monster's one,'**_ came the goddess's voice, calm and posed: _ **'so probably when you smelt it we just decided to go away as fast as possible. But from what you have just gathered it has an Element in it so, because of this reason and the fact that it isn't extremely powerful, it can't be a monster. The only clue that we have is that she is somehow related to Penelope, due to her own strange scent.'**_

Waiiit a moment there.

' _With my luck, how much is it possible that she is her mother, who I am going to walk along and talk to and try to_ not _make aware that I will train her daughter, is inside the Moonlit world?'_ I said calmly, my own steps directing myself in the middle of the court.

You know how someone goes calmly to his own execution? That kind of calm was what I was feeling at the moment.

' _ **With how much lucky you are?'**_ was the faintly amused answer of the goddess which made me sigh.

' _Okay,'_ I conceded, the tension in me not wavering in the slightest. That was a stupid question: _'But how much do you think is she inside it?'_

' _ **I think that she knows about what you are, if the way she is staring at you is telling'**_ was decided by the voice of the entity, just when I was finally able to pinpoint when the two signature were, after being finally out of the maze which was the horde of little children.

One of the two was the girl who was pointing at me and talking excitedly to the other signature, who was rubbing the kid's hair with one hand and carrying her bag with the other, while staring at me.

She was around the same age of my own 'mother', being around her thirties, and was dressed with a uniform with red, white and blue stripes, which had a breast pocket on the right side and a logo on the left side of the chest which had a red and white lollypop at one side and a marshmallow at the other, with the name of the workplace written on it _'Sweets on America'_ , and along with all that she had a simple blue purse _._

Physically she was on one meter and seventy tall, with a slightly tanned skin, long brown hair, a light make up, slightly thicker on some parts of her face, and blue eyes.

How was I able to tell that she had blue eyes?

Because she was staring at me with them, her own gaze calculating until she noticed I was looking at her, after which she immediately schooled her own features into a smile.

It was a soulless smile, without any spark in it, but it would have tricked every other person around that it was just a mother seeing a friend of her daughter.

Remarkable.

It was more than a bit concerning that she was so good at using this, and this made me even more tense, while the girl continued to talk clueless.

Then the excited words ended for a moment, while the girl's green eyes were looking at me, then she run in the middle space between me and the woman.

After a few moments she first pointed at me and presented me:

"Mum, this is Sheru Kishiya, my friend, and he is a meanie, so lets not make him encounter the smelly one."

Smooth. She got the name wrong, and, by the tone used, insulted me, but smooth.

If you can't say, I was sarcastic.

"Sheru, this is Sally Jackson, my mum, so don't make her angry or sad or anything else or I will make you sorry!"

Smooth.

Really kid, so smooth that sandpaper is ice at the side of that presentation.

Then I heard a chocked laughter, not coming from around us, where the last children were running either to their parents or to the school bus to get home, but from the woman, who had her hand in front of the mouth to not laugh openly.

' _ **Uh. Maybe we were just overreacting?'**_ came the confused comment of the goddess.

I swore inside my own mind, which made the entity squawk at my words, while on the outside I bowed with my arms attached to my body and presented myself as childishly as possible:

" _Hello, Penel's mum, my name is Shirou Kajiya."_

 _ **A quarter of hour later, Chocolaterìa y restaurante de Fernandez**_

" _Why are you doing this?"_

I remained stoic, but inside…

' _ **Oi. This time it's not my fault.'**_ Came the voice of the entity through the bond, feeling my own internal annoyance towards her.

Annoyance which seeped in my words when I shouted through the bond: _'Murphy doesn't care about it! Nor does my luck! And where is the kid now!'_

' _ **She is looking at the blue sweets in the back.'**_ Answered serious the goddess, and I could hear a bit of understanding and interest there: _ **'And if the mother is asking this question then she knows that there is going to be enough time for her to interrogate you.'**_

'… _I will need to make that time longer.'_

Internally I was extremely annoyed, but I was able to reign that annoyance and asked, tilting my head, with my most innocent tone:

"What are you talking about, Miss Jackson? I'm a child, right?"

"Don't joke with me." was the curt response of the woman, who was calmly glaring at me from the seat opposite to me:"I know that you are not an human, not completely, but unlike the other beings who are mixed with the world beyond the Mist, your own self is almost shrouded from my Sight. What do you want from my daughter."

"I'm sorry, but I really don't understand what you are talking about, miss Jackson." I tried to make myself look dumb, but I was already reflecting about what to say and what not.

I knew that the woman in front of me was aware of me being part of the Moonlit world, thanks to her own signature and the fact that she was aware of the Moonlit world, or as she said the world beyond the Mist.

Now, how much did she know about me?

"I repeat my words, _Kajiya,_ don't joke with me. I know that you did something to my daughter, and I know that you gave her that silver amulet. What I want to know is what do you want from her." were the words, uttered with a venomous tone while her own glare was boring into my eyes.

I just sighed.

Well, what do I not want her to know?

That I don't want the gods on my tail for being a resurrected soul, because that would give her the higher hand from the start, but maybe if I destabilized her enough, I could have made her overlook that, and maybe even give her a reason, and I would have to equally avoid to talk about my vacillations.

Then I would have to make sure that the girl didn't barge in during this… conversation. It would make for troublesome question, if the fact that the mother didn't let her know about her heritage.

But I knew her weak point.

After all, what is stronger than the love of a mother?

 _And if she wasn't someone who would defend the girl, then…_

" _ **Trace on."**_

 _Thurisaz. Hagalaz. Isa._

After activating my circuits and feeling their warmth spreading into me, I pumped a bit of Prana on my forefinger and drew the runes on the wooden and worn table.

Then I overloaded them with Prana, so much that they almost faded due to the stress I was putting them through, but, when they were almost at their limit, I cut the Prana output and sat straighter.

It would make them last much less, but their effect would be strengthened.

This was going to be my last defence from being discovered by outside influences.

' _ **It could also attract any monster on a kilometre radius.'**_ Warned the goddess, her tone alarmed.

' _At this moment it would be worse if the girl came here, but the probability is indeed high. Could you please control if either the girl or a monster comes here?'_ I asked, my tone serious.

' _ **All right, will do. Do not underestimate her.'**_ This was the last advice given by the entity before she became silent.

Not like it was needed.

"Penelope Atalanta Jackson," I started, my tone lacking the earlier childishness, while my eyes were now staring directly into the mother's ones, which were before staring at the runes on the table:"demigod," no strong reaction at that, just a quickened heartbeat, visible from the temple veins:"daughter of Sally Jackson and the god of the Sea and Earthquakes."

The woman in front of me for a moment became wide eyed, her pupils widened and her breath quickened.

After that moment she squashed those symptoms, but my bet was successful for one time.

But I needed to continue to control this, so I continued, emotionless:"Three days ago she was attacked by a Cyclops, who probably had been looking for her for some time given its mundane clothes." The mother turned sharply towards the direction where the daughter was and was preparing to get up, but I rose one hands placating and said calmly:"This store is secure, there is no presence of presence of the mythological world other than me, you and the kid. If not, then you would have also sensed it, right?"

The mother stopped then, after having meditated between herself for a few seconds, she sat again and made a gesture with her head, which I translated as 'continue':

"The day after the girl was somehow able to track me down, and I gave her bits of knowledge about the other world along with a copy of the talisman, which helps covering her signature, and lied about her heritage to avoid her developing a stronger signature, and instead I said that she was a Clear sighed mortal instead of giving her the truth. Unlike you, who is one it seems."

The mother closed her eyes and leant her forehead on her closed hands and then she commented, her voice tired:

"So today you will train her while the other members of your family believe you are playing, right?"

I nodded, not adding anymore.

"But you didn't answer my question: what do you want from my daughter?" continued the woman, her eyes now reassembling ice for how much they were cold.

I just continued to stare into her eyes and said calmly and truthfully:"I need to train her to avoid her attracting the presence of the monsters around this area. I will not leave a child to be killed along with my own innocent family, and the other world is cruel to the innocent and the unready. This is also the reason I gave her a copy of my talisman: to avoid attracting monsters and gods alike. We both knows what would happen to her now, with so much potential she has for being a offspring of the Earthquaker, if she encountered the gods."

"And how, pray tell" asked the mother, her tone cutting and her eyes angry:"would a young boy like you, even if clever with words, train someone to fight the monsters? You could have just lied due to the whispers of some god, am I-"

*Thunk!*

The sentence was blocked by a Traced bowie knife which I had embed in the middle of the table to the hilt, thanks to my own strength.

"You could wrongly think that the runes are a simple lightshow, but this is not some illusion, like this hole-" I took the knife out from the table and let her take it while I was calmly saying these words:"-and this knife makes you understand. I will train the girl not for kindness, but because having someone looking at my own back is always useful, and because having her not trained would only be worse for me. So, if you want your daughter to be ready for the storm coming against her, I advise you to not insult the one who will train her." I ended with finality, while with an ample move of the hand I 'repaired' the table thanks to an generous of Alteration.

The mother in front of me stared at the knife in her hands for a moment before I let it fade into blue sparks, making her yelp while her hands were left with nothing.

Maybe I was a bit annoyed that she thought that I was under the control of some deity.

I stared at her, who looked at me in a strange way, and then I talked the same way I would talk about the weather, to completely destroy her defences and give her a bit of 'knowledge' about my own abilities:

"I was cursed by the gods to know everything about the bladed weapons I see and replicate them. Every drop of sweat it took to train with them, every tear of sadness they were witnesses to, every droplet of blood they took and every last breath of their owners, I know about. Every death, every triumph, every joy, every pain that those weapons brought I am witness to. Any abnormality they were witness to, from lightning coming from the serene sky to runes used to protect, I saw. I know _everything_ about blades and weapons, and for that I know _nothing_ about how should a child feel; I know _everything_ about fight, and for that I know _nothing_ about how should a son feel; I know _everything_ about death, and will be able to know even more, and I will know much less about life. That's the heritage which was given by the god of the Smith to me."

This was the most credible lie I could come with.

After all my own abilities weren't the result of a god giving me his abilities, but this story was much more believable than the truth itself: that I was a trans migrant soul of an _'hero'_ from another dimension with a goddess in my head, who also wanted to die due to my own actions, at the same time caused by my own stupidity.

Who would believe that?

But a son of Hephaestus being able to replicate objects and know about their stories and change because of them was much more believable.

"… Could you take out the pendant? I want to be sure about you." asked the woman calm, her eyes never leaving mine and not showing any emotion.

I thought about it, weighting the advantages and disadvantages of taking off my own magical shield:

It would give me a bit more trust with the mother in front of me, but it could also give her information I didn't want to give, along with the menace of attracting any monster around, but it could also be the last time I will have the chance of gaining an ally who is physically adult, so able to easily give me some materials that normally are banned to me, even if it seemed like she had problem of her own.

I could always take them in other ways, but sneaking around wasn't something I excelled at, even more with this body.

But if some monster was able to find me when I was without the talisman, it could also spell the end of the Kajiya's family, and I couldn't even close my Circuits, because if I did that then the bounded field would go away immediately and I wouldn't be able to reactivate the talisman.

But then there was this sensation through the bond with the goddess, but it wasn't empathy or trust like you could think; not, it was indignation, like she was mad that I had forgotten about her.

I could almost imagine a woman nodding in the background.

I sighed, asking myself why did I always have to be bounded to childish individuals, and, while I could feel outrage coming through the bond, I touched the amulet and, letting a bit of Prana inside it, I whispered the Aria, with my eyes closed and my mind set into the objective:

" _ **I whispered lies, I gave falsities and tailored deceptions.**_

 _ **Now I shout truths, I offer veracities and construct trust.**_

 _ **Now, the sword is bare for everyone to see."**_

I could feel the talisman deactivating itself after having said the deactivation Aria, while that bit of Prana was going towards the reversed _mannaz_ in the middle.

Now I had to control myself much more to make sure that my own presence wasn't a beacon for every monster in the state.

Or worse, the gods.

At least there was the makeshift bounded field, and the goddess should be able to control my Scent a bit.

*Gasp!*

I didn't open my eyes, but that noise was something that I should have expected.

Probably the woman in front of me was able to 'see' thaumaturgical signatures like I was able to 'smell' them.

' _ **You should activate the amulet as soon as possible. I don't like spectating a meal from the eaten side.'**_ Came the voice of the goddess from the bond, her tone, while sarcastic, letting pass the hastiness of the situation.

Still with my eyes closed and my focus on not making too many ripples, which wasn't exactly simple, I declared emotionless:

"If you are done with the staring I will reactivate the amulet."

"…Yes." came the choked answer, like the mother in front of me was being strangled by a rope, along with some ruffling that I couldn't quite place.

But in that moment I didn't care and, following the same actions as before, I chanted the Aria:

" _ **I shouted truths, I offered reality and constructed trust;**_

 _ **Now I whisper lies, I give falsities and tailor deceptions.**_

 _ **Finally, the sword is sheathed, invisible for anyone to see"**_

I could feel the amulet working again, while the reversed rune made sure that I was as similar to a mortal as possible.

Then, when my eyes opened, I found something strange in front of me.

The woman was…

"Oi, why are you laughing?"

…laughing.

She was laughing, and was using her hands to cover her laugh.

Oh, wait , she was crying too.

Had she snapped under the pressure? It wouldn't be that much strange, after all.

Then, just before I was preparing my circuits to start pumping Prana to my eyes, the woman was able to put herself together and then she apologised, a few tears still running down:

"I'm sorry, but this has been a long day, with someone being suddenly interested in my daughter; the fact that that someone was related to the mythological world, now you come and I can't even see your inner element," Inner element? Maybe she could see my Origin?"Then there is the fact that, even if you look like a child, you have a way to pose yourself that you seem more like a minor god connected with the Smith god who has morphed himself into a child; then you use magic that I have never heard of even from Penelope's father;" strange word use:"Then you use one of the most outstanding story that I have ever heard of to excuse your own abilities." The truth was even more insane, young girl.

"Then." this time the tone used changed, becoming more distant, like her gaze which was pointed somewhere behind me:"I saw your own inner self. A sword. What kind of self can be a sword? I have seen my daughter having the sea, I have seen other people having splendid lights and others," she waited a moment and gulped, like she had a knot in her throat:"having the darkest imaginable. But there was always some of their selves in it, if not all of it. And you have a sword. And that would mean that most of what you said was true."

She looked at me, a tired smile on her face and her eyes were wet from her mad tears, and said:

"I can't make you swear on the oath river, as much as I would like to, but I will say this: harm my daughter and I will make sure that Hell itself is a better place to be."

I only rose a brow at it and, with the driest tone I could use, while trying to hide that bit of admiration I could have felt, I commented:

"If that's your way of granting me your blessing on training your daughter, then thank you."

The mother looked at the table for some moments, or rather at the runes on it, her mind probably taken into something horrible for me, and the she murmured, maybe to herself:

"Could I be trained as well?"

…

…

Why, oh why, did everyone I encountered want to be taught by me, of all the people?

"The problem is that I will not be able now due to your daughter. For now, I want to make sure that the kid doesn't attract an invasion of monsters, and we will have to make sure that she doesn't discover her divine heritage at this moment and prepare her for when she will learn about it."

The woman looked contrite for a moment at my calm words, then her face returned neutral and she asked calmly, leaning on her chair:

"Then how can I help?'

It was said in such a way that it almost could pass as a normal question, like 'what time is it?' or 'how did you pass your holydays?', not 'how can I help to fight against monster of old, which are believed to be only legends, along with my daughter who I had from a god?'.

That kind of things.

But that was my chance:

"You could help by being our contact to the adult world. Sometime I will need materials to create some supplies, or to get resources, or to be my face when some time will be needed for your daughter to train, or to cover traces when your daughter will be at home." when I said the last words the mother flinched minutely and I could see her arms moving under the table, while her mouth had become a thin line and her pupils were wider than normal.

Then, yet again, she squashed that panic she was feeling and calmed herself, but I had already made the connections needed.

Damn, splendid. Really what I needed.

One time, my blades would have been growling salvation, my weapons would be screaming for justice and my swords would have been used for their end.

But now?

Now I was too broken to do something without remembering that damned ideal, too rusted to not understand that there was something else under this situation, too bended to charge in without any plan and risk even worse outcomes.

But there was something I could do.

"There is a problem about how I will have to get the money to help you, I don't have a good paying job." came the observation of the mother, who was sometimes looking at a bright blue watch.

I was taking a piece of paper from my bag while answering her doubt:

"There are some ways which we could get funds: by repairing mechanical objects, by constructing costume jewelry, by sabotaging slots, by-"

"I think it would be better if we did something actually _legal_. If we win too much at the slots, _deadly_ curious will start to wander in, and I don't think it's something that you want. Nor do I want to be in a federal prison for having scammed some slot." came the dry snippet from the woman, who was observing my right hand while it was tracing in a blue light a line on the sheet of paper.

I snorted and said, faintly amused:"I am going to work for you when I am a nine years old child, I don't think that this is legal." before she could even groan, I continued, switching to a more serious tone, while I was finishing the line:"But we need funds, so we will simply do the most legal options and I will make sure that you will be able to find them. I think that you know at least some people who could need some repair done by the offspring of the Smith. Then I will give it back to you when I will accompany your daughter to your home. Easy and smooth." I ended my own discussion while I started the second of the three legs of the rune.

The base was awful, and I needed it to be durable, so it would have taken a lot of time to be finished.

"But why would you need resources this fast?" asked the mother, her tone both curious and suspicious while I was finishing the second leg.

"You know what day is today?"

"Hmm? Today is Friday."

"What I intended was the number."

"The twenty first of May."

"And what day will be in a month?"

The mother remained silent for a moment, then she swore quietly and said:

"Summer's solstice. Damn it." I nodded, my finger now on the last leg of the rune in front of me, and explained:

"The amulet I gave to your daughter was the best I could create at the moment, but it's not enough for her. I will try to train her in such a way that she will not become a beacon for gods and monsters, but with so many presences around which could destroy us I wouldn't want for her to be found." I would like to avoid that too:"But to forge a much more fitting amulet I need silver. More than we both can afford at the moment."

I was able to take it thanks to several travels to the dumps, searching for old electronics from where I would take the metal.

But it took almost a year for me, and in that time I was able to make some time thanks to the runes and the fact that I didn't have to train a child.

This time I didn't have this freedom.

"Exactly how much metal are we talking about?" asked the woman, rubbing her temple with one hand.

"Around six hundred and eighty grams of silver for a sphere of five centimetres of diameter, which would take me around four weeks to fabricate. With the holydays coming, it will take less I hope." I said mechanically, now a bit more focused at the ending of the rune.

Ok, now…

*flash*

The weak light flickered and then it stabilized in a weak azure, after which I sighed and controlled the rune.

It seemed like a reverse Y with a line in the middle, or a chicken footprint going towards you, but this little rune would alert me if it was ripped.

The downside of the effect was that the echo could have alerted the habitants of the Moonlit world, and that some minutes was a lot for such a simple alarm, but it was the best I could give at the moment.

"So…" talked the mother, a bit unsure:"around 24 ounces… right? And what is the price of silver?"

"The whole cost of the silver would be two hundred and thirty one dollars." I answered apathic.

The mother froze for a moment and then sighed, slumping.

"So little and yet so much…" murmured, casting her eyes down.

Hmmm… It seemed that the situation went even there, now we would have to be sure that not only the objects wouldn't be touched but also the funds themselves.

Then she took up the blue purse, and from it took out a wedding ring.

"I am not able to take a lot of money with me, and I am usually too controlled to be able to spend it without being noticed. But maybe this is enough."

She passed it to me and I Analysed it quietly:

"It's a twelve carats ring, so it's made of half gold. Around… fifty dollars? Maybe a bit more. Not enough."

"But I can use it as down payment, and then you can help me gain the rest."

"It could be suspicious if you return home without your ring." I warned to the determined mother after she had said that course of action with surety.

"More than the risk of my daughter being killed. I will go against the gods themselves if they try to harm her, and if some bruises are necessary for her to be safe, then so be it." she declared, her voice gaining strength while her eyes became colder.

I looked at the ring in my hand, then I quietly commented:

"If I could give you a copy, would it work as well?"

"What?"

I didn't answer at the question, and I simply analysed the ring more deeply this time.

"If something was forged, then it falls to my semen's donor dominion. If he was able to create something which made his mother want him back, then what is recreating a ring when I can make swords?"

After having made this act of theatrics I Traced a ring in my other hand, which was as similar as possible to its real counterpart.

I gave both of them to the mother, who was looking at the rings with something akin with wonder.

Then, after a moment or two of pondering, she commented:

"They are the same…"

"Almost. The false one will be gone in around two months' time if nothing extreme happens, and someone who is extremely sensible with anything from the Moonlit world would be able to sense it if passes besides you, but I don't think that it's a chance worth to even considerate and if it avoids some incidents than it's worth it."

The mother nodded and put the false ring inside the purse while she put the true one in her pocket.

I internally sighed and passed to her the rune I had just crafted, of which I explained the function at her puzzlement:

"This is a warning rune. If it happens something dangerous both mundane and not, rip it and I will be alerted."

Don't say the part about the dangers or she would never activate it, and probably die due to some dickhead, and for it making her daughter go berserk along with her Circuits.

I didn't want a Prana lamp for moth monsters unchecked, and I could at least contain the problem so that I wouldn't have monsters and gods alike searching in the city.

Or an earthquake. Or a tsunami. Both would be pretty dangerous for the child and the mundanes around.

"Thanks." was the curt response of the mother, who then put it inside the purse.

Now that this was done, I needed to know why did they li-

' _ **Young Penelope is coming. Just after a quarter of hour of talking. I wonder what she did.'**_ Came the warning of the goddess, which made me groan and, putting an hand on the runes of the bounded field and warn:

"Your daughter is coming now, so I will deactivate the runes. Make sure that this conversation is hidden: it would make some unpleasant questions come otherwise."

I needed her trust to train her, and I had already lucked out once. Twice, while knowing who her father was, and dragging her mother into this?

I was unlucky, not completely naïve.

The mother nodded and I deactivated the array, which became dull and then disappeared, and then my own Circuits, which left me cold even if it was the end of May.

Then an human missile crushed against the woman in front of me, who almost fell over when she hugged said human missile.

"Ohhlookmommythischocolateissuperupergood!"

I rose a brow at the black haired child who was jumping up and down in front of the mother, who was looking between the amused and the exasperated while smiling down at her child and patting her head.

"Sweetie, what did I say about sugar?" asked gently the woman, gone the hardness she had before.

"ThatIshouldn'tittoomuchbutthisischocolatenotsugar!" came the lighting fast answer, with the child's eyes being completely open while a bit of chocolate was on her lips.

The mother giggled at that and, taking a paper napkin, she started cleaning her daughter, who was trying to get away from the adult.

This was almost heart-warming even for me, as much cursed I was.

' _ **You understand that that isn't going to last long, right?'**_ said the goddess suddenly, but not unexpectedly.

' _The only question is why: why would she choose to remain there if she is so concerned about her daughter life? She doesn't seem to be deeply traumatized, nor does she seem to have any love for that man if she wants to use the gold inside the nuptial ring.'_ My tone was analytical, and my brows knitted in front of this puzzle.

The woman in front of me was a mother. With this I meant that she would defend her daughter in every, _every_ case without any fear or wavering whatsoever.

And yet she remained there.

What was I missing?

' _ **Maybe the answer lays somewhere else. What did you find?'**_ asked the goddess, even if I knew that she had heard the whole conversation.

' _Other than what we already know? That the girl is surely a child of the Earthquaker, that the woman is able to mask her emotions admirably and that probably her Origin or Element let her look into others' Origin. Nothing more.'_ Was my curt report, which made me want to hit my head with the table while the mother was jokingly blaming the titular of the shop, who was sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, and the child was excitedly running around between the other few, amused customers.

' _ **I'm not sure about it, but why would she not call the father of her daughter for a blessing? Why risk both their lives in such a way and remain with a lowlife?'**_ was the question given by the goddess, which was one of those I couldn't find the answer for.

And that was a good question.

Along with the stench which covered both of them.

…

I didn't have enough pieces for this puzzle, but there was one thing I knew, all while looking at the two pure souls in front of me:

I couldn't let them live there.

I would risk my own objective.

Not only that, but because of my lack of ability now the girl was in a danger bigger than her, and along with her someone who would rather die than let her daughter die.

 _That, I couldn't let pass._

 _ **Three quarters of an hour later; Kajiya's house; The roof**_

 _*Wump*_

" _Oi…What…Did…I…Do…To…YOuuuu…"_

" _You did ask me to train you. Is this so strange?"_

The girl now was on her back, gasping and wheezing, while I was not even slightly winded and had just drily said those words while rummaging in my bag.

This was just after some laps around the perimeter of the roof.

' ' _ **Some' is something like five or six. Not 'rush for twelve minutes as much as you can'. She is still a child, you know?'**_ The goddess's words were exasperated, but I could hear a bit of amusement in there.

' _This was a Cooper's test, I have to know where she is so I can weight the amount of training needed. After having done the heating laps and the stretching, it's not that much.'_ I explained drily, getting back from the old and wise entity the sensation of a raspberry.

But I was more focused on how much the girl had run.

She had run twenty laps of the roof's perimeter. That would be the distance done by a good athlete.

Good, it would mean that I could push her as much as possible.

But for the moment I would have let her rest a bit, and instead, passing a water bottle that I had inside the bag, I asked meaningfully:

"Do you know how I create my swords?"

The girl was now openly glaring at me while inhaling half of the bottle, somehow not choking in this endeavour and her thaumaturgical presence becoming a bit stronger.

I rose a brow and commented:

"Tough crowd. Don't finish the bottle, it will be all you have for the day."

The girl stopped drinking and glared at me harder, but I could see an hint of fear in her.

"But whyyy!" she whined, waving her fists around like windmills:"It's good and it makes me feel much less tired!"

I could understand the reason for which she was stronger when being in contact with water, but I needed to know how much Prana she was able to produce without being to hindered by _water_.

And that was one reason.

A second reason was that I already would have to make her drink a bit of my Prana filled blood as a probe, while the goddess would be the instruments and the one able to find exactly how many Circuits the girl had and how much Prana she was able to produce, and I didn't want to repeat.

' _ **Why do I sense a bit of mistrust in you?'**_ asked the grumpy goddess, her tone more than a bit annoyed.

' _Because I have never used this method to find how many Circuits a person has. Or even any other method, period. So I am a bit unsure.'_ I answered truthfully, knowing my limits at traditional Magecraft.

' _ **It won't be that difficult: when the probe for the '**_ _ **Chain activation by External Prana's influx' will**_ _ **make the circuits flow with Prana, you will be able to count how many and of what quality Circuits she has, while I will inspection her Element and Origin. Easy peasy.'**_ I could almost feel the security with which she said those words, so much that I needed to rise a brow in the physical brow and say in the bond, :

' _We will see. And it's butterfly effect.'_

' _ **Bah! Continue with the lesson, ye old soul.'**_

I shook my head and gave even another reason, said in such a way to be as serious as it could be.

"Because sometimes you will not have the luxury to be at your best in a fight. You could be tired, you could be injured, or you could even be emotionally depleted. Being a bit thirsty isn't very much, and if it could help you in surviving then so be it."

The girl was now staring at me with something akin with fear, and in that moment I gave my third reason with a smirk:

"Then because you could throw up if you drink too much when we will do your physical training."

Now she was looking at me with annoyance, and I could see a bit more red forming on her cheeks, now not because of only tiredness.

"But I didn't ask about why you shouldn't drink too much after having done exercise. I want to know how I create my swords." and to my question I added a Traced _Xifos_ , which came with its double edged _dulled_ (and I made sure three times it wasn't sharp) blade, which reassembled a willow's leaf, gleaming under the afternoon sun and it's t-guarded hilt remaining firmly in my hand, along with a comforting heat from my circuits.

I could feel the history of the ancient Greek weapon and, above all, the best way to use it flow into my mind, but I continued to look at the girl with a smirk.

The girl was still glaring at me, but now there was to add a 'are you stupid' background sound in her glare.

' _ **You know, starting with a Traced weapon as an example is not your greatest idea.'**_ Commented the goddess, and I could imagine a sweatdrop floating inside the bond.

' _I'm not good with teaching Magecraft, you know. Being over-specialized does that. But I am open to suggestions.'_ Came my annoyed answer along with a twitching brow.

' _ **Try with to compare it with the triangle of fire. After all it's similar to the process to produce a Mystery, isn't it?'**_ was the truly helpful answer of the goddess, at which I nodded and mentally said grateful:

' _The Prana as a fuel, the Aria to make yourself think to be able to do it and the knowledge of the end result. Thanks for the tip.'_

' _ **And do it while training her with the sword. It could help at making it less boring. Maybe. It certainly doesn't hurt to try.'**_

' _Wouldn't it be too much for a young child? She doesn't have any training before this, and I don't want to overweight her too much with it.'_

' _ **You are going through stances. Stances. How much do you think will be boring?'**_

I inhaled deeply and exhaled equally explosively, remembering some of my selves' training with Taiga.

The first lessons of kendo with Taiga, when I firstly started to want to be an 'hero of justice'.

…How much boring it was.

Then she needed to do these things while fighting, so it would be useful for her to be able to be trained in multitasking.

' _All right, I will do that.'_ Or at least I would try to do that.

' _ **Pff. You would be lost without me.'**_

' _Hnn. You know, I have several objections to that statement, but I will keep them to myself and just say 'Screw you'.'_ Was my own ending to the dialogue, and then I Traced a blunted _Xiphos_ and a wooden _Pelta_ , a round shield of fifty centimetres of diameter which had a strap for the forearm and an handle on the edge of the shield itself, both remaining floating in the air and I ordered to the girl in a calm tone, while summoning a _Pelta_ for myself:

"Take them, the sword with your writing hand, the shield with the other, strap and try to imitate my own stance."

Then I put the shield, which was in my left hand, in front of me, slightly angled to not use too much energy when blocking my foe's attacks, and moved in front my left foot; I held the sword's blade near the edge of the shield, making sure that my sword arm was covered, and moved the right foot behind the other of around a shoulder of distance, making sure that it was angled, while bending my knees slightly to be like a coiled spring.

The girl immediately did it, and, even if there were some imperfection like the shield not being angled enough or her feet not being enough apart from each other, but those were pretty minor.

And she was able to do it only with visual mimicry. Impressive.

' _Is it from her heritage?'_ I asked the goddess, curious and a bit awed, while I went to the child and corrected her mistakes with the stance.

' _ **Possible. While we could see that your own abilities were a bit hindered by this universe Mana and your new Od production,'**_ a bit? I had to scrap my own Magecraft from zero due to the Mana and Od overproduction, and I couldn't for some reason even summon my own Reality Marble, a reason which was more than mere overdose of energy and could be one of the problem I had with Tracing along with said overdose: _**'a Demigod is instinctively prone to battle, from the body, which is much stronger than normal mortals and can be trained at high level even when they are children, while its injuries are cured by the use of the food of gods Itself, to the mind, which is already ready for battle and keen for details, other than being able to read ancient Greek, to their very souls, which are much heavier than mundanes, and of course with their mythical abilities, inherited by their divine 'parent'. So it's not that strange that Penelope is able to find her way with weapons, even more if those are Greeks weapons.'**_ Was the explanation given by the goddess, whose tone was clear and collected.

' _Naturally I barely have two thirds of them, and the remaining one third only gives me problems. Sometimes I really hate my luck.'_ I laughed sarcastically at how my luck was.

' _ **You**_ **are** _ **an old soul, so it would be a bit difficult for your own experiences to be overwritten just by being born in another body. Then I think that having more power isn't a bad thing, is it?'**_ came the answer of the goddess, which I could risk to call smug in the end.

' _Bah! Let me return to train the child.'_ I grumbled, my tone gruff, after I was finally able to move the legs of the child to their best distance.

So the mental chatter ended, and, while I could hear something strangely similar to laughter in the background of my mind, now I was just observing if the child wasn't returning to her previous, wrong, stance.

I nodded when I noticed that there was nothing to warn about, and then I ordered:

"Rest."

The girl now was looking at me with a questioning stare and an head tilt, but she did as I asked and returned into a normal position.

I almost smirked, but I was able to restrain myself from showing it at the thought of what I was going to make her do.

Then I gave another order, and this time I smirked for her reaction:

"Now I want you to retake the same position as before again and again until you don't do even one mistake."

Oh, how I would have liked to have a camera!

After all this girl was, even if unknowingly and unwittingly, the reason of that whole situation (and I wanted to use another word _so very much_ ) happening and for me to risk not only my own life, about which I didn't care at all, but my own objective, along with reopening some wounds which I didn't want to be opened.

So seeing her eyes becoming wide, her mouth opening so very much, her arms slackening even more along with letting the two training weapons go, made not only my day, but also my week, and made me smirk at her.

But I wasn't so petty to laugh at her, and I, with my calmest and most serious tone despite my own smirk, repeated:

"Yes, you have understood what I asked, and you will do it."

*Grooooaan!*

The girl groaned and bowed her back, but she took up the two weapons and tried to put herself into the stance I instructed.

While she started her exercise, I grabbed the sword with my other hand and started pumping some Prana on my digit;

"Girl, you have to be bended, if not when an attack will impact on your shield you will just fall over."

"Riiiiight."

With the forefinger I started the run with a vertical line;

"The shield has to be slightly tilted so that you deflect the attacks. Deflecting an attack is much less tiring than blocking one."

"Suuure."

Then I added an oblique line on the right side of the line, then another one under that, so that the rune seemed to be a seven reflected on a mirror;

"I can understand that you find this exercise useless, but you have to be able to take that stance without thinking. It's better a bit of sweat and boredom than blood and tears."

"Okay... But this is boring!"

This was _Ansuz._ A rune with many meanings, but the one that I wanted was very simple.

 _Fire._

The girl was immediately in front of me, having discarded the two poor training weapons, and I could almost see stars in her eyes when she looked at the little fire now burning brightly on my hand fuelled by my Prana, even under the early summer sun.

I looked amused at the girl and asked, my tone entertained:

"I didn't know that you had finished your exercise. Or that I even said that you could stop."

The girl looked up at me and pouted, and with a grumpy tone she moaned:

"But it's boooriiiing! And you are now doing magic in front of me, and I want to do something other than remaining standing like a pole!"

I sighed at this reason but, with a nod at myself, I let her remain and asked:

"Do you know the triangle of fire? We didn't do it at school but if you know that it would make all this explanation much simpler."

The girl nodded, much to my surprise, and exclaimed brightly, a megawatt smile on her lips:

"Sure I know it!"

I didn't trust her, so I asked with a dry tone:

"Then could you explain it to me?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…If you don't know it, I can always explain it to you." I said a bit exasperated at the blank looking, still smiling girl, who nodded again and replied haughtily:

"I know about it, I have it on the tip of my tongue, but you can always repeat it for me!"

"*sigh* Okay. Sit down. I will explain it to you." then I started explaining, with the runic fire still on my hand, while the girl looked at it with raptured eyes:

"A fire is comprised of three elements: heat, oxygen and fuel. All of these three elements must be present if you want the fire, and if one isn't present, then there is no possibility for the fire to burn. The same is with magecraft: for a mystery, or 'magic' as you would call it, to work, you need three things as well: Prana as a fuel, an Aria to make attune yourself to the mystery you are going to make manifest and make yourself believe that you are able to do it and that's normal that it happens, and what you want to make manifest. Like a fire, if there isn't one of these things then there is no way for the mystery of being manifest-"

The girl nodded at the small pause I did, probably understanding some points of it, but I wasn't finished:

"-along with your life." I ended with finality, trying to make her understand the dangers, but at her questioning face I explained:

"Prana is a mixture of external energy, which you could call Mana, and internal, which is the Od, that is produced through the use of internal coils which I call Magic Circuits. If there is not enough Prana, then your own preparations are going to make you try to do it in any case, and without fuel, well… it depends on how much Prana you don't have, but it could go from an horrible pain to an horrible death. So pay attention to how much Prana you can produce."

"Sooo, if being too little 'Prana' is bad," commented the girl tentative:"Then being too much is also bad, right? 'Too much of a good thing is not a good thing', right?"

I smirked satisfied, and praised the girl while preparing to give a small practical example:

"Good. And do you know what happen when in a fire there is too much fuel?"

"…It goes boom?" asked the girl, now looking fearfully at the fire which was hovering on my hand threating, and backpedalled a few metres.

"It goes boom." I confirmed, and then I let a lot of Prana flow into the fire, while reinforcing my whole body and my clothes, and, after becoming bright as a small star, it exploded in a small fire's mushroom.

*WAAAH!*

The girl now had retreated to the other end of the roof, pointing at where the fire had been with a trembling hand while her eyes were darting from there to my unharmed hand to my still clean long sleeved shirt, and then, when it registered to her that I was perfectly fine, she pouted and shouted:

"Meanie! Bully! Dummy!"

"Yes, I am all of those things. Now can you come here so we can continue the introducing lesson?" I asked annoyed, the volume of my voice not changing in the slightest.

The girl continued to pout but she did as I asked, and after a moment of two she was sat before me again, still glancing at the hand which was carrying the fire.

I coughed into that hand, making her stop looking at it, and then, when I was restarting my lecture, the girl asked a bit fearfully and a lot confused:

"But, if it's so much dangerous… Why do you want me to learn this?"

… Do I want to be hard or light?

No. She needs to understand the truth of her situation before everything else

She deserves that much, if she can't at least get out from this world:

"You will need to at least have the basics down in the least time as possible. We could then slow down after you are able to recreate them exactly, but we don't have this luxury now." I explained vaguely, and then I added in a calm tone:"After all, how do you think that the one eyed monster was able to find you?"

The girl paled and trembled, and in that moment I ended my offence:

"Even if I gave to you the amulet, I don't want you to be over-reliant to it. So you need to be able to close and open your circuits at will. After all what do you think would happen if they are opened and the amulet fails?"

" Okay okay okay! I have understood, no knowing about my power is bad and if I don't learn it my mom and I will be eaten!" shouted the girl violently, after that her eyes wide and her breath laboured, while her whole face was red and her body was trembling with anger.

Then she huffed and added, her tone less angered and more annoyed:"And it seems cool too. I want to be able to fire some monsters. And other things."

From the smile she made it wasn't just _things_ she was thinking about, but I let it run, feeling now a bit drained.

"Good." I said, my tone calm in front of her anger:"You understand the stakes, then. We don't have the luxury to wait or not train you about at least the basics with your situation."

I sat down myself, at that moment feeling so much tired.

So, so very tired.

I was going to drag an innocent there, after all.

I had to be tired.

With a soft tone I said:"I know that it's cruel to not let you make any decision about this, and if there was a way to not make you walk this path with you still alive, I would have made sure to take it. But we don't have it, and if I fail to teach you than not only you, but your mother, my family and possibly the entire block will be in danger, and that's not something that we can let pass."

And if the monsters came en masse, or even if a great Thaumaturgical signature came, then the gods would come, and they would investigate much more deeply.

Even if some of the runes on the roofs made sure that the building wasn't taken as Thaumaturgical in nature, a good investigation made by some gods would rat it out fairly quickly.

Better to not poke that wasps' nest.

But now we didn't have the time to sulk about our destiny, so I said, my tone now calm again:

"Today I will help you open your Circuits."

The girl was now listened to me attentive, even if I could see a bit of frustration in her eyes, when I continued:

"I have already said that Magical energy, or Prana, is produced inside the Circuits through the mixture of internal energy, the Od, which you could call your 'life energy', and the external energy, the Mana, which is produced by the world itself, and is used by the gods and the monsters to do their own magic, like the Mist, which covers the tracks of supernatural activity. But for this to happen, your Circuits need to be open. And, consequentially, if you want to avoid to produce Prana, then you need to know how to deactivate your Circuits. Is that clear?"

The girl nodded, and with that I continued:

"There are several ways to open your own circuits, but all are either too time expensive, like meditation, or to much cost expensive, like some rituals which needs hilariously expensive parts to work."

Or were too much intimate, like Soul diving, I added mentally.

Which was, in comparison, even more intimate than a tantric ritual, so something that I didn't want to do by principle.

Much more so with a child.

She didn't need to see my real own self, and I absolutely didn't need to feel like I was doing child abuse.

The girl was now looking at me confused, her head tilted and her brows furrowed, but she didn't make any question and remained silent.

I took it as a hint that I could continue:

"But there exists one way which meets both the criteria's and can be done now. You could call it 'the Butterfly effect'."

' _ **It's one of the lamest names I've ever heard.'**_ Quipped the goddess inside the bond, her tone both resigned and faintly amused, while I summoned a knife in my hand.

' _Because you had such a better name.'_ I answered back sarcastically, while making sure that the Athame was summoned properly.

' _ **I would like to say that 'Chain activation by External Prana's influx' is a good name.'**_ Sulky, while I was controlling that the knife little boost with rituals was still there.

' _Maybe for a first rate Magus who would like to vivisect me and the girl. But I am not one. But now we have other things to do, right?'_ Mildly irritated, even after I was sure that the knife was almost perfect.

' _ **Yar yar yar, you are just jealous of the name.'**_ Jokingly, while I prepared the knife on my forefinger.

' _Now it's not the time. Prepare.'_ No longer only mildly irritated, while inhaling and preparing myself.

' _ **I'm always ready!'**_ Even more jokingly, if possible, and finally the bond was clouded, meaning that the goddess was preparing herself.

Good that I was already prepared.

I let the blade flow through my finger, without even an hiss of discomfort at the bite of the steel, uncaring of the surprised noise coming from the girl in front of me, and instead I focused in making my Prana flow in the warm blood, now trickling down from the half centimetre scratch.

This was just to better the chances of this ritual going in the way it should, even if it didn't have a dedicated Circle or any particular Aria.

The Perks of having an entity bonded with me, I guess.

If the hadn't been here, then I would have had to make the girl consume highly concentrated quantities of my Prana.

Which would have meant making her eat Prana filled jewels.

"Ohi! Are you mad?!" came the voice of the girl, now extremely concerned and alarmed by my actions, her eyes wide while she was dragging herself back.

I just sighed at the girl and explained, distractedly looking at how high the sun was after having gotten up:

"Prana can pass through individuals if there is an exchange of fluids between them. There are several variables in place in this kind of rituals, like the closeness between the two individuals."

When I heard no answer I looked down to the girl who was looking at me with a blank stare and a stupid smile, like she…

"You didn't understand a thing about what I said, right?"

The girl nodded slowly, her blank stare still in place, and I resisted the urge to rub my temples, wanting to avoid to make my white hair red and make some unwanted questions.

All right, it isn't needed for her to understand completely, but maybe:

"Prana can pass through blood if both the giver and the taker want."

The girl perked up and nodded quickly, now understanding what I was saying.

"Good. So, drink my blood." I ordered plainly, my still bloody finger continuing to let out my own vital essence.

The girl, after a few moments of confusion, gagged and, after she was able to recuperate herself, she pointed at me and shouted outraged:

"What should I do with your blood?!"

" It's not the blood itself which is needed, but the Prana which flows inside it, which will trigger a reaction with your dormant circuits and activate them. Drink it." I said in a calm voice, trying to not become _too_ much annoyed.

I was bleeding here, bloody Root, and I didn't want to stain my clothes.

"But why does it have to be blood?!" screamed the girl utterly disgusted.

Instead of becoming more annoyed, I looked straight at her and asked calmly:

"Would you prefer that I kiss you?"

"Blood it is."

The answer was given so quickly and surely, like the previous disgust did never exist, and got up from where she was.

"Okay." she commented nervously, her eyes darting to the still open scratch while walking towards me:"What do I have to do?"

"Open your mouth." I ordered without an ounce of embarrassment.

"Wha-"

In that moment, when her mouth was open, I stuck my slightly injured finger in her mouth and Reinforced my whole hand, preparing for what would come to her and focusing on counting her Circuits and their qualities in the briefest time possible.

For a second, the girl looked at me enraged, her eyes squinted and her fists moving to strike me, then it came.

 _The amulet was promptly shattered, like a sand castle in front of the wave._

Her eyes became wide.

 _A surge of power, so much that it made the one that it was felt before like a pond in front of the ocean._

Her knees risked to fall, but she was able to remain on her feet.

 _The channels seemed to almost shake, so much was their own power inside each of them._

And then a voice surged through her throat, like I expected.

After all this was a painful process.

 _The number of the channels was so deafening that not even hundreds upon hundreds of hooves on the nude rock could silence it._

But it wasn't pain which came from it.

It was a pure and simple laugh, which only children could be source of.

"Itshs feesshhh good!" shouted the girl, my finger still inside her mouth, both too much surprised to notice, her for the exhilaration of the situation, myself for the surprise.

Not only for her happiness, but for the sheer _power_ she was able to put off, enough to dwarf my own by ten times.

But this power would come at a cost, it always came.

The gods are fearful creature, after all, fearing for every scrap of power getting out of their control.

I had seen several of those scraps, and I had been sent to deal with several of them.

So it was normal that I looked at the girl, who now was flaring with energy from her two hundreds and twenty seven circuits, each able to produce a little less than four hundreds and eighty unit of Prana, with sadness.

' _ **She is also an incarnation. And she has a double element. Origin Water, Elements Water and Earth. Fearsome.'**_ Came the voice of the goddess, which made me want so much to openly swear.

But, for that moment, I buried that sadness and irritation and said, my tone emotionless while I let out my finger from her mouth, my analysis complete:

" _Welcome to the Moonlit world. May you survive for the next years."_

 _ **Two hours later, on the road towards the Jackson's house.**_

" _Sweetie, what did you do that now you look like an old man?"_

"… _My everything hurts…"_

Girl, you didn't stop for a moment after I activated your Circuits, and you needed training in every case.

I only got two birds with one stone.

Wait, make them three: I got your Circuits to finally close after you were tired out.

Now you were an hurting child, but at least we were closer to not become food for monsters or amusement for gods.

' _ **I don't think that Penelope could understand that you were doing a favour by beating her into shape.'**_ Quipped the goddess, her tone exuding piety for the girl.

' _It's better for the child a lot of sweat and a little blood_ _than a little sweat and buckets of blood, am I right?'_ I quipped myself, my tone dripping with cynicism.

' _ **That's true, but look at her!'**_ I did look at the wobbling girl, who was using her mother as a crutch while a newly Traced amulet was dangling around her neck.

' _You know that I wasn't really hard on her, right? And do you remember that this will be a routine for the next month, and when we will be able she will be trained even more hardly?'_ I explained calmly, my eyes firm on the road, making sure to list any possible high points from where I could fire with my bow.

' _ **Still I don't think that-'**_ Grumbled the goddess for a moment but then she stopped when we came in front of a grey, decaying building, which fronts were covered with black sprayed letters and, in front of the building, bags upon bags of garbage were present, which, along with the smell of smoke, both machine and human produced, completed the description.

But it was the stench of rotten, something so utterly disgusting that almost made me retch for both its suddenness and its pervasiveness.

And it was magical by its origin.

' _By the Root, what is this? A monster?'_ This was what I thought, and a muttered _**Trace On**_ was what I did.

' _ **I don't know what it should be, but it's not a monster.'**_ Came the sure answer of the goddess, nonetheless said with a seriousness that confused me.

' _Then what could it be? This stench is characteristic of monsters, not of humans. Of normal humans, at least.'_

Images of the worm which was Zouken Matou came into my mind, its twisted grin only less wicked than its soul, but this _stench_ was nothing compared to the sheer, _disgusting_ _wrongness_ which was the centuries old worm.

But this made me feel uneasy all the same.

Probably my reaction was seen by the mother because, when we entered the building through a squeaky door and came before an old, graffiti filled, lift, after having passed under the drunken and sleepy gaze of the old clerk, she said gently to the girl:

"Sweetie, could you please say goodbye to young _Sheru_ ," damnit:"And go up? I have something to take here and you know how the old elevator is with more than two people on it."

"But there is Smelly up!" came the answer of the girl, who looked both annoyed and irritated at her mother.

There was even a bit of fear in there, also.

"Then wait outside of the door, I will be done in a minute or so." was the calm reply of the mother, who was rubbing the scalp of her daughter.

The girl was hesitant but, under her mother ministrations, she nodded surely and, after throwing me a glare, she waved at me and said:

"See ya tomorrow, broody."

And then she went off wobbling, leaving her with a person who, for the girl, shouldn't know about her training.

"Maybe your training was too hard for her." was the comment of the mother, who now was looking at me emotionlessly, her affectionate persona a far echo.

"If you want her bloody and motionless on the ground rather than sweaty and walking then I can stop training her to survive for the summer's solstice." I answered with my most sarcastic tone, making her flinch, then, with a more emotionless tone, I asked:"Are you sure you want to talk about it here? It's not the best place to do it, after all."

"Old Eddie isn't able to even think after the six of the afternoon. Or the morning. So he will not even calculate us as present here."

I looked at her sceptical but nonetheless I asked, my tone not conveying both my irritation and my curiosity at the answer the mother would give me:

"Could you please tell me what is this disgusting presence in the building?"

The woman looked at me emotionless and simply said:

"It's the one who gave me that ring."

I just stared at her, internally raging about idiots, but externally questioning:

"And _why_ would you stay with someone who gives that kind of presence?"

"Because I want to protect my daughter."

It was said in a tone so resolute, so determined that it almost made me want to beat her with a stick for her recklessness, but I resolved with my most exasperated tone:

"And how would be being with someone who could as well pass as a monster-" and probably behaved like one, I added mentally:"help protecting your daughter?"

"Does a dog eat another dog?" was the answer given by the woman, which made me stop and think.

' _ **Maybe it's possible that only the presence of another monster. It would explain why monster of different species usually don't work together. But why would this happen? And why would a human have this kind of presence.'**_ Theorized the goddess, her tone studious, but I wasn't so hopeful:

"But it would only put yourself in danger, wouldn't it?" I tried to make her understand that.

"I said it before, I don't care what happens to me, I only care about the wellbeing of my daughter."

I bit the side of my mouth and tried to not going to the nearest wall and hit it with my head for her stubbornness, but instead I calmly talked:

"I understand, just remember to use the rune I gave to you if something happens."

The mother nodded but before she could go away I asked calmly:

"Do you know if there is one of the mailboxes which isn't used by the people inside the building?"

The mother shook her head unsurely, probably wondering why I was asking that, but now I was in front of the sleeping clerk again, using Structural Analysis to look at the boxes and find the one used the less.

Then I found one, which wasn't used since eight ten months and didn't have anyone who was using it since that time, even if it still had a dusty name of it, of a certain 'Giustino DelMonte'.

Without thinking about it, I placed my hand on the locket of the mailbox and I tried to find inside the history of the mailbox its key.

From the time of its forging, to the time it was placed in there, to the first time it was used, to the last time it was closed.

Which I found in less than ten seconds, and in another three I Traced two copies of the keys of it, and in another one I Reinforced the box itself.

After that I engraved with the magic an underpowered _Isa_ rune, which would only dissuade mundanes from looking at the mailbox, and, having done so I threw one of the key to the mother, who clumsily caught it, and I said:

"Use it to put the money and the objects I need to repair. I would prefer to not have objects findable by my family, and you can't have great quantities of money inside your home, so this will be where we will put everything we need to exchange. Is that good?"

"Yes. Now I have to go. Have a good day, son of the Smith." She answered, her tone strangely full of respect, and, without waiting for my answer, she departed on the lift.

I just looked there and sighed, thinking in what kind of mess now I am in.

At least now I know what I am going to do.

 _What is one month against seven years, after all?_

 _And seven years to the eternity?_

 _ **END CHAPTER**_

 _ **AN**_

 _ **YEAAAAHAHHAHA!**_

 _ **Now I leave you with the third to last chapter before the first book.**_

 _ **Because I've made a time table.**_

 _ **A rough one.**_

 _ **But now the chapter is ended, and I will say: Thanks to whoever wrote a review and complimented me.**_

 _ **Grazie a Ander warrior e a Hunter of memories, per ora gli unici italiani a scrivere un commento.**_

 _ **Muchas gracies a Castelmar, el espanol que escribe en los commentos (me excuso por el teribel espanol per yo voleo rengracierta en tu lengua).**_

 _ **Another thank to nobodyreallyimportant who has given me some insight about American schools. Please send PM to me if you can help.**_

 _ **Thanks to Paxloria, deathgrips099, DannyPhantom619, Ztassassin555, AmethystPone,Gashadokuro Amanojaku for their critics reviews.**_

 _ **And a little omake for Roxas902 (S is for Shirou and R is for Rin. This is just a little bit of a joke for Carnival, let me be a bit of a joker, after all "A carnevale ogni scherzo vale", and thanks for the comment).**_

S:"Tohsaka-san"

R:"I already said how you should call me, Shirou-kun."

S:"I understand what you mean, Tohsaka-san, but I find my situation to be a bit too…delicate to be overly familiar with you."

R:"Hmph! It's because you said _that_ word that now you are stuck on the wall!"

S:"But Tohsaka-san, I only shouted when I saw that I had white hair!"

R:"You swore against the god of the Christians."

S:"… I didn't know you were religious, Tohsaka-san. I apologize."

R:"No, Shirou-kun, I do not care about religion. It's that you swore against a deity."

S:"… So you are politically correct?"

R:"…You are an idiot. What was the era before the age of the human?"

S:"…The age of gods?"

R:"And what was in the grail?"

S:"…Oh."

R:"Oh. That age isn't something missed by the magi, even if the Mana of the time would be greatly appreciated. Being the slave of some upstart bastard isn't something I would like, and if "

S:"Okay, then we don't insult the gods because…"

R:"The gods take power through worship, both good and bad, and, depending by the power of the worshipper, they gain more power. If they gain enough power, they could return into the mortal plane."

S:"So all the Magi don't worship the normal gods because they could summon them back. But there isn't the Church?"

R:"Would you say that Kirei is a worshipper?"

S:"Okay, you are right. But isn't it a bit…too much?"

R:"Would you like an Angra Mainyu in the world? If you have to swear, swear about the Root. It can't do anything, and if it appears because you swore…eheheh…"

S:"All right… Now could you please let me go?"

R:"No. I've had some…ideas which I would like to try…"

 **See you guys in the next chapter!**

 **CIAAOOOOOO!**


	4. Chapter 3: The Protection of a sword

**CIIAAAOOOO!**

 ***Schiva istintivamente il niente* Uh… I didn't expect that.**

 **Welcome to another chapter of God of swords!**

 **But, before we start with the chapter three things:**

 **I can't thank you enough for your feedback, but I will do it nonetheless: thank you very much.**

 **I need a beta. I think my horrible grammar made it a bit clear, but I would like to ask to the readers if someone wants to do it (I don't want to drag a poor virgin to my own den of insanity). Thanks in advance.**

 **This time I will answer to the questions put in the reviews. Look at the AN in the end.**

 **Said that, on with the third chapter of:**

 _ **GOD OF SWORDS: HOW A SWORD IS FORGED**_

 _ **CHAPTER THREE: THE PROTECTION OF A SWORD**_

 _ **Top of the roof, afternoon;**_

 _ **Two days to the Summer's Solstice**_

 _*Swoosh* *Ting* *Twack*_

" _OW!"_

I sighed at the girl in front of me, resting my right hand while the girl was rubbing with her shielded arm her right flank, which was where I was able to hit with my own dulled _Xiphos_ , while she was glaring at me with the whole seriousness an eight years old could muster.

Which was not much.

"You continue to be too much aggressive even when it's not needed." I said, my tone unyielding and surgical at the pained child:"And you didn't use my own handicap in the fight, continuing to try to attack despite the fact that I'm luring you into my own traps."

"It's… easy for… you to…say!" was the angry answer of the girl, ruined by the harsh intake of breath she was taking, which made her look more like an angry chipmunk than a demigod who could, in a far future, wipe the floor with me Thaumaturgically wise.

' _ **Well, she has ten times your reserves, but if her control continue to be that hideous, then it's going to be a long time before she is able to beat you with Thaumaturgy.'**_ Commented the goddess serious, then she continued with a cutesy tone: _ **'But look at how cute she is, angry that her master continues to beat her.'**_

' _At least she is much better with the weapons than she is with Thaumaturgy.'_ I drily commented, while letting the girl before me take a breath.

She was really good at it.

I had in my hands a true prodigy, who now was able to resist against the technique of a trained Spartan soldier, who was the previous owner of the sword I was using and had ten years of experience with it, used by a person who had thousands of years of battle behind him.

I wasn't counting on the experience of the _Pelta_ , it being more a last defence weapon for skirmishers than a true melee shield, even if it was a great replacement for the _Hoplon_.

Even if I could obliterate her with one finger if I went all out with my strength, her growth was nothing short than phenomenal.

Now if only she could equate that genius with Magecraft and not be so negated at it.

At least she was able to find an image to open and close her Circuits without my help.

It took two weeks and half to do it, but she was able to do it.

And that's without talking about the time of opening itself…

' _ **Didn't you take some years to do it when you were in your dimension?'**_ asked the goddess amused, amusement which made me want to slap my younger selves for their idiocy.

At least the girl wasn't using her nerves as makeshift Circuits, that was good.

"Oi, are ready for another spar or are your teeth clattering for your dread?" I asked, mimicking the most taunting tone I could muster in front of the still hurting girl while openly smirking at her, using a certain blond king as a model for that.

I wanted for the girl to fall to the bait to teach her a certain lesson which I had never paid attention until much later in life, but she remained there, the only way to notice that it had hit home was her baring of her teeth and her squinted eyes.

This was expected, in one month of teaching her I had never seen her enraged by insults against herself.

It was something to be lauded, if she didn't have another thing which _will_ surely make her fly off:

"Come on, if you are so much of a coward how are you going to protect your mother?" I shouted, my tone filled with fake grim amusement, while internally I heard the goddess say, her tone resigned:

' _ **Here she comes.'**_

The girl, with growl and white knuckles, charged at me with her sword high and angled in such a way that she showed me the hilt, while her shield was still protecting her front.

' _Here she comes.'_ I uttered internally, my own tone emotionless when my smirk flattened and my eyes sharpened.

I had put myself into my stance when she moved her right foot forward and, without disregarding her stance to avoid being beaten with the heavy piece of metal I had in my hand, attacked, her blow coming overhead towards my sword arm.

I simply retreated and let the blow pass through and, advancing myself, I fainted to prepare a thrust to her torso.

The girl was already prepared with her shield to protect herself from a strike towards her torso when I directed the strike towards her still unprotected sword arm.

The girl saw that and protected her arm behind the shield, putting herself into a middle guard again, and my strike passed harmlessly above the shield, and she capitalized on my overextended body, making her blade descend from over her head with all her strength, telegraphing her movement.

I avoided to the left, letting the girl unbalance and posing it against her unprotected leg, while I could see her face morphing in pain.

The girl stopped for two moments, then she groaned and shouted furious, preparing the _Pelta_ and the _Xiphos,_ gritting her teeth, glaring with her eyes and going back into her stance determined:

"Again!"

"If you continue to be so inattentive when you attack and so easy to be taunted, then I will always have the control of the battle. This is something that you will have to learn. Then you have to understand when your body can't take anymore, and if it can't, don't attack." I explained calmly, my annoyance at this mistakes being repeated almost non-existent.

Those were mistakes made by her being still young, the only things which showed her inexperience in the mid of all her talent.

Which didn't need to be praised too much to avoid her becoming too proud of her abilities.

' _ **Oh, look at the poor girl, she is like a kicked puppy.'**_ Came the sad tone of the goddess, which made my brow twitch.

"But you are doing good, all things considered. You started training only a month ago with you weapons, and your progresses are nothing short than impressive."

…But if I didn't praise her enough it would be detrimental to her self-worth, making her overestimate her enemies and lose energy needlessly.

' _ **Sure, that's your only reason, old soul.'**_ was the deadpan tone of the goddess, at which I answered with a calm _'absolutely.'_

' _ **So it doesn't matter that the girl now is looking as a kid who has been given an entire sweet shop?'**_ was the amused comment given by the goddess, at which I gave my own _'No.'_

And then I said something which made the happiness in the girl fade like snow under the sun:

"Now we will go with Reinforcement training."

The girl, who before was beaming at my compliments, was now looking at me with wide eyes and trembling slightly from fear, while her lower lip…

"Don't try to sway me with the kicked dog stare, you will only make your lesson last more." I stopped her from unleashing the trembling lip with a voice of steel, and with the not armed hand I pointed at a bucket of old nails, some as big as an hand, some as small as the point of a finger, which I had recovered from the graveyard.

I also made sure that the rust over them was gone, I didn't want the tetanus in my life.

"But I can't do anything with them! Can we just use the weapons, please? It's cool!" came the childish voice of the girl, who was looking at my armed hand with something akin with longing.

"If you become over reliant with one weapon-" I started lecturing, but I was interrupted by the droning of the girl in front of me:

"-I will be weak against someone stronger than me. You have said that the 'Jack of all trades but master of none is better than a master of one' at least one hundred times!" shouted the girl, waving her still armed arms around angrily.

"And I will repeat it every time it's needed. You need it both for your own talisman and for your own control, so please, activate your Circuits" I ended with finality, dispelling the weapons we were using and making the girl whine in protest, but I was already taking the nails and putting them in front of her who, with an huff, sat down and took the first one.

After a few moments, at which she had closed her eyes and had scrunched forehead in concentration, she muttered her own Aria in a whisper:

" _ **Let the dam break."**_

Slowly, ever so slowly, I could feel her Circuits activate, one by one, in a snail's pace, until the last one was activated after three minutes of wait and scent of minerals.

' _Any thought about why it would take so much for her to activate her Circuits?'_ I asked to the entity through the bond, while trying to piece together the reason of her slowness and waiting for the girl to get out of the meditation _: 'Could it be because of the quantity or the quality of the Circuits?'_

' _ **No. You were able to activate yours in roughly the same time of your other life, even if they are more and much better than your previous ones. Maybe it's a problem in the process of the activation itself?'**_ The goddess both answered and asked me, trying herself to help me:

' _I don't think so, if it was a matter of the process then she wouldn't be able to activate them at all. But what could it be?'_

It was concerning that she took so much time to activate them, if she would need them in a fighting situation it would be unviable.

' _ **For now let focus on the present. The pendant for Penelope is almost ready, isn't it? You are ahead of the schedule, aren't you? Penelope is becoming better in an incredible pace, isn't she? Be optimist!'**_ exclaimed the goddess brightly, trying to cheer me up, but it only made me freeze in dread and then resignation.

' _You had to say it, right?'_ I commented, my tone full of acceptance.

' _ **What do you mean?'**_ asked the goddess, curious.

' _Just…Lets continue with the training.'_

The girl had finally gotten out of the meditation and was looking at the bucket with an happy smile:

"It takes a lot for the little guys to start," commented the girl, her eyes sparkling with happiness:"But they feel so incredible! And they are even making my side feel better!"

"Start Reinforcing the nail, if you please." I requested calmly, activating my own Circuits with my own _**'Trace on'**_ and preparing to 'Structural Analyse' the nail to look how she would do it.

The girl glared at me for some moments, but, seeing that I didn't falter she, tentatively, started to pump Prana inside the ferrous object, trying to better its own qualities and lessen the cracks, the voids and the impurities inside it.

But the Prana pumped inside it was barely enough to better the qualities of the nail itself of 1%.

The girl seemed to have noticed it, because then she pumped an huge quantity of Prana, making the nail vibrate.

I immediately snatched it from her hand and Reinforcing my arm I threw it as high as I could, perpendicular to the roof.

When it exploded due to Prana overflow the fragments were so minuscule that they wouldn't have hurt anyone, and the explosion itself was covered both by the sun's light, the building and the runes.

When the explosion died down, I turned with a pointed stare to the girl, who was accurately avoiding it, then I said in an amused tone:

"I know that you like explosions, but could you please alert me if you want to make a grenade? Just an heads up would be enough."

The girl twitched but didn't say anything, unlike a certain goddess who commented in an equally sarcastic tone:

' _ **Smooth, old soul, really smooth.'**_

I didn't pay ear to her, and waited for the girl to talk.

' _ **You should try to explain why it's so hard, that should do the trick.'**_

When the girl didn't talk for a while I paid attention to the goddess's advice and sat down in front of her with a sigh and, after a few moments, I started talking calmly:

"It's normal that you have problem with this kind of Mystery, you have a lot of Prana inside you, and this is more a control based Mystery, so understand that your problems are not so strange."

"But you don't have those problems that you talk about." grumbled the girl, still not turning her head:

"I think that you shouldn't compare yourself with me for now. But probably, in around six years or something you will floor me in Thaumaturgy." I said, trying to make seep through some certainty to not make her self-worth waver.

"Are you sure about it?" this was asked in a curious tone by the girl, who had turned her head to look at me.

"You have ten times my Prana output;" I commented, slightly annoyed:"you are an-" _**'normal'**_ "-incarnation, having both your Element and your Origin aligned; you will not misuse what you are learning" in every way possible. I will not let her become an hero:"So be sure about it."

There were several moments of silence, then it came:

"Oh?" was the trouble making sound coming from the girl, who had mischief in her eyes when she turned:"So you are saying that I will kick your butt after some time?"

" _Some_ is the important bit." I drawled, my stare becoming bemused at the complete reverse the girl just did, even taking the next nail with a pleased hum.

It wasn't normal, was it?

' _ **Oh, I think that she only wanted to be encouraged by her Senseeeeeiii.'**_ Was the amused tone of the goddess, who dragged the last syllable in a mocking tone, which didn't help answering my question:

' _I'm serious, why did she have such a change of mood?'_ I reflected, while the girl started to slowly pump Prana inside the nail.

' _ **You really can't understand?'**_ asked the goddess, somehow incredulous by my logical question.

' _No.'_ I grounded out, feeling more than a bit annoyed.

'… _ **Damn, it seems that it will be harder than I thought.'**_ Was the stray thought of the entity, which made me stop and ask stonily:

' _What are you talking-'_

"YEEEEAHHH! I did it!" was the jubilant shout coming from the girl, which made me snap out of the mental bond and look to an happy girl who was dancing with a construction nail in her hand.

I concentrated at the nail with Structural Analysis and I was able to grasp exactly how much was she able to truly Reinforce.

"Its qualities are bettered of almost the 70%. Outstanding." I complimented, my tone emulating a pride that never went truly into my smirk nor my eyes:"It's your best try since you started training with this Mystery."

"Ah! Finally I will not have to do this thing anymore! Ahahahah!" The girl exclaimed boisterously, getting up and laughing to the sky, her hands to her sides and her laugh haughty.

I simply took another nail, similar to the one she just Reinforced, and did the Mystery myself.

"Oi, apprentice, catch this." I stated, and after she paid attention to the construction nail, I lightly threw it.

She grabbed it, only to drop it in a moment and look at me disbelieving, her mouth open and her eyes wide.

I smirked at the unbelieving stare, and, with an amused tone, I said:

"You have a long path before you, young apprentice. Sit down and continue to do it."

The girl sat down without a word and, still without a word, she took another nail, this time a normal one.

Then, when she was filling with Prana the object, she uttered only one word:

"Meanie."

I only rose a brow and waited for the nail to blow up, knowing that the girl was now too much unstable to do it.

' _ **You are a bit petty.'**_ Commented the goddess, in a mixture of amusement and berating, which just made me roll my eyes when I took the exploding nail and launched it to the sky.

The girl looked at the bright explosion and then sighed, her head low while taking another nail, and asked:

" _Another time?"_

" _Another time."_

 _ **In the middle of the night; on the roof**_

 _*Scratch Scratch Scratch*_

" _It's almost done."_

I was on a Traced chair, in front of a traced desk, using as a light two _Kaunaz_ , which were like squared Cs that held the meaning of _Torches_ , and I had in my hand a traced graver, an engraving tool with a mushroom-like, wooden hilt and an extremely thin point, which I was using along with my Reinforced eyes over a press which had a silver sphere with a silvery little chain in its middle, which was already covered with Runes itself and upon which I was putting the last details on its most important part.

' _ **I said it before, right? You are too gloomy for your own good.'**_ Commented the goddess, preening like a peacock.

 _*Scratch Scratch Scratch*_

 _Ansuz_ was a rune with many meanings, I said it before and I will repeat it.

Fire, Odin, ash, knowledge, persuasion.

The old Aesirs, and their inheritance.

' _Don't try fate now, it always come back to haunt if you do.'_ I commented while making the last details on the reversed Rune in front of me.

 _*Scratch Scratch Scratch*_

If _Ansuz_ was the Rune of persuasion, its reversed meaning would be lying.

But its reverse with the signification of divinity wouldn't be human.

' _ **Come on, how many times did it happen?'**_ asked teasingly the goddess, amused by what she thought was just an old lady talk.

 _*Scratch Scratch Scratch*_

It would still mean lying, but there is a saying about lies:

 _*Lie enough times and it shall become the truth.*_

' _I wouldn't want for your soldier in making to be hurt because the amulet didn't work. Would you like it?'_ I stated, remembering the comment she had done just a few hours prior which could only mean that she wanted that her soldier was ready for the war to come.

 _*Scratch Scratch Scratch*_

I wasn't even paying a quarter of my mind to the conversation, so much taken by the rune in front of me, which needed to be ready and perfect in a few days.

Now it could be asked _'why are you using this rune instead of the one you used with your own amulet?'_

' _ **What do you mean by that?'**_ The goddess requested, her tone conveying fury, strangely.

 _*Scratch Scratch Scratch*_

The problem of this Rune was that its meaning was simply _'Deception'_. It wasn't a precise _'Become as human as possible'_ which was the meaning of my own reversed _Mannaz_.

If we could compare the two, it would be like comparing a neat illusion done by a master illusionist with a box.

A sturdy, twelve times more resistant than the illusion box, but a box nonetheless.

' _But I want for you to know this, primordial.'_ I ignored the fury of the entity while I stopped engraving the Rune, knowing that the graver was trembling slightly due to my own anger, and declared:

' _I will not let another me be born. I will not let another Counter Guardian be created, even by you. I have already walked through Hell several times, I'm not afraid to do it again to avoid another soul to be cursed like me.'_

' _ **Where did you get that idiocy from? Or rather, why did you think it?!'**_ The entity shouted furious, her tone completely useless against my own anger, but she, much to my surprise, continued:

' _ **I don't want another one like you! I know, I have seen that Hell! I've seen how the gods in your dimension are, and I know how those in this one are! I regret not being able to do anything to avoid your slavery done by Alaya, and I equally regret that I wasn't able to take you before you were twisted in such a way by my other-dimensional kin.'**_ Before I could say something, the entity resumed with a sour chuckle:

' _ **Eh. Now that I think about it I can't really blame you of your lack of trust with me, after all I did take you from your release without your will to do so, I have made you walk on Earth again by binding you to a mission, a duty that you had already fulfilled a thousand of thousands times, and I have done so without giving you nothing. It shall change today.'**_

Why did she go for such a tangent? I didn't ask for the story of my life, just that I will not let the girl become another damned 'Hero of Justice'!

But, before I could stop her, she declared:

' _ **Today I, The most ancient Abyss, so swear: that I shall not lie to this old soul from today to the day he shall day, that any question shall be answered, and that I will help in any way possible; This I swear upon my immortal soul!'**_

I could feel a Geass forming.

I could feel a Geass forming.

I could feel a Geass forming!

 _*ALARM!*_

A feeling of danger stopped me and made my mind go immediately towards the reason which could have originated this sense.

Or rather, the _rune_ which could have originated it.

' _Algiz.'_

Damn it.

' _ **GO!'**_ The goddess shouted shaken and I, after having de-summoned all the traced objects and taken the amulet, putting it inside a pocket of my shorts, I Reinforced myself at my utmost and looked at the direction of the girl's flat.

This would be bumpy ride.

' _We will talk about your idiocy later.'_ I promised icily and, without any other thought I bolted from the middle of the roof to the edge of it and then I jumped with all my strength.

The noises of the night, which before were muffled thanks to my own runes, became prominent while I jumped on the roof of the slightly lower building; the lights of the City, which before were covered like a curtain covered the sun, became blinding when I rolled on that roof.

"One hundredth." I noted calmly, while my body, like a coiled snake, snapped again and started running to the end of this roof with the speed of a supercar and then I jumped again, my legs making a crater on the cheap concrete that formed the roof of the building.

When I was soaring the ten meters of road, I was sure that the people down wouldn't be looking up, and for those that would, they would simply pass it off as being just tired.

Maybe I should have made an _Isa_ to at least hide myself a bit, but I didn't exactly have the time to preparate.

"One hundred first." I whispered when I landed on that roof, feeling slightly pain but continuing on as _Algiz_ became closer.

So I jumped again, over cars, buses, people, all like ants when I was over them, reaching the next roof.

"One hundred second."

And then I was five floors under the next roof.

I groaned while running to the edge, but that was the only sign of my annoyance before I leaped, my superhuman strength and speed put in test while I stretched my hands.

*CRASH!*

My face, chest and knees hurt when I hit the surface of the building, but my grip on the edge remained strong while I dragged myself up.

"One hundred third." I groaned, now the feeling of alarm being like a horn in my hears when I looked at the building where the rune was, in the seventh floor of that building.

But there was another sensation, a sensation which came to my nose, an aroma.

An aroma of salt.

' _ **Damnit girl…'**_

I agreed with the sentiment, even if I didn't show it, and in a second I was on the edge of that roof, in another I was airborne, and in the third I had crushed against the flat's window, shattering it.

There were three human voices inside, an alarmed shout coming from an big adult male, four meters from me, disarmed, without any obstacle between me and him, a surprised but low sound coming from an adult female, who was at my right, three meters from me, with a busted lip and a black eye.

And an Aria coming from a female child, who was sporting a bruise on her temple, things which filled me with more irritation than what was ideal in this situation.

First objective:

" _ **dam brea-HMPPH!?"**_

-Stop the child from activating her Circuits to avoid being flooded by all the monsters in this state.

If needed, knock out the child.

"Oi, girl, I'm here so could you please not activate your Circuits?" I stated to the girl, my hand over her mouth, making sure that she didn't do anything stupid for all of us.

"Who the fuck are you!" shouted the male with a hoarse voice, thing which made me look at the male in front of me, who was prone on the floor.

He wasn't exactly what you would call a pleasant being: dirty and smelling, with stains over his overweight body and a redness all over his almost bald head, while his poorly treated teeth were shown in his snarl.

But the worst was his Thaumaturgical signature, which stench would have made me mistake him for a monster and attack him on sight.

Unfortunately he was an human and his death would bring unwanted attention towards my apprentice and her mother, so I had to avoid any permanent solution against him.

But now this place wasn't secure anymore, and it wasn't needed for the girl to stay here for her safety.

The girl who was licking my palm, maybe trying to make it free her from her mouth.

"Girl." I emotionlessly demanded, keeping the now wet hand on her mouth, while the human before man growled at the lack of any answer from me:"Please take the amulet I have done for you from my pocket and then push your Prana in it. I will make sure that both the mundanes are hypnotized and then we will go away."

Hoping that there is no monster around due to your expulsion of divine power.

But due to the _idiot_ I think we will not have this luxury.

And me being me, I knew that the Murphy fellow had done his law only for me, so I kept my senses at the ready.

And then I heard a walrus's roar coming from the human's mouth, who, with the grace of a drunkard, got up and tried to charge like a rhino at me.

 _Tried._

When the human was in front of me, his fist set to strike me, I just used the hand which was covering the girl's mouth and _slapped_ him away with my own Reinforced body, making him fly away, impact against chairs and a table, crush them, and then hit the opposite wall, making a web of cracks on the cheap, soot ridden, plaster, while probably cracking some ribs and other, unnamed, bones with a curt sound, along with a beastly wail.

All of this even if I held back of around half my power.

This was the power of a D- ranked strength user.

I heard noises of surprise and amazement from the other two mortals in the room at the inhuman feat, but I simply requested again to the girl, my voice bland, while I turned to her with a bored expression:

"Girl, take the amulet in my pocket and activate it, I will make sure that the mundanes forget about my own entrance and inhuman feats, then I, you and your mother will go away from here." the mother shot me a look, not angry but calculating, but didn't say anything and finally got up on her shaky legs, which were covered in jeans and didn't let me see how much they were hurt.

I should have been faster.

"…Do we really have to hypnotize mom?" was asked with a feeble voice by the girl, who was shooting some glances to her mother, who just walked to her side and knelt in front of her, almost hiding all the signs of discomfort she was feeling.

But I could see the bruises on her wrists, the winces in her brows, the tremor in her knees.

And all of this made me shook my head and say 'yet again'.

"Go sweetie." this tone was a mixture of the one she used with me, hard like steel, and something much more delicate, that all mothers should have, but that it was so rare that in all my time, in all those years, I had truly seen it an handful of times:"I trust your friend as you trust him, so go do this 'Prana' thingie, all right? I don't think that he will abuse your trust, right?"

The mother looked at me, and even if she was bloody, even if she had a black eye, even if I knew she was much weaker than me, I trembled for a moment, so much I knew of her determination.

"But mom, the smelly hurt you, I don't want for you to…"

"Sshhh, sweetie, I'm here."

She was the mother of a major demigod, someone who had accepted this burden, without breaking, alone, and to handle this situation alone.

That only made me hate myself and the gods a bit more.

The mother was talking to the girl and I didn't want to hasten her, even if I was fearing for monsters to arrive, but I had other things to do.

Like hypnotizing the human which I had just slapped away, both to make sure he didn't spill about my own power and so attract the attention of any powerful monster and to make him stay away from both the mother and the girl.

So I moved towards the hurting human like an hunter in front of an agonizing beast and, making the human turn his snarling eyes towards my own Prana filled ones, I muttered:

" _ **Look into my eyes."**_

 _The human's eyes widened even more than before, and he started to struggle._

" _ **Every resistance is useless, look into my eyes."**_

 _But my fingers clawed into his injured shoulders, and my hand remained strong over his weak, mortal, body._

" _ **You had been with these people for too long, now it's time to go."**_

 _The human started to hyperventilate, while the drool with a bit of blood started to flow out of his mouth._

" _ **Your wife decided to divorce, and you, in your grief, decided to call your friends."**_

 _His pupils were wide, his tremors were violent._

" _ **Then there was a fight, caused by their lack of understanding in your situation."**_

 _Its kind always thought that they were right, every abuse, every insult, every death, it was always right for them._

" _ **But you are Shin-Gabriele Ugliano, and you are a man, right?"**_

 _It wasn't the first time I encountered this kind of humans, and it wouldn't be the last._

" _ **So you will not contact them in any way, after all, they insulted you, right?"**_

 _But killing them? It wouldn't work in this matter, and it wouldn't bring anything back, and it wasn't my kind of thing anyway, even if I was a cursed thing._

" _ **So I order you this: let these people go away from you, they don't need you."**_

 _But making them go away, and pay for what they did with the world itself? Make that same kind of humans be jury, judge and executioner for their beastly mind?_

" _ **Go in another city and start over. After all, the world needs you."**_

 _It was better than any kind of justice I could give._

" _ **Now sleep, and be prepared for a new day."**_

I let the human fall asleep and then, with my most emotionless tone, I asked, turning towards the mother:

"What a waste of air and Prana. Do you know where can I get some ice?"

The mother pointed with a finger a semi-open door, and I went there with soft steps.

*Crunch!*  
Then I hit a shard of green glass, and there and then wanted to go back and just start kicking the human.

But I didn't do anything else than go to the freezer as fast as possible, without paying attention to the countless bottles, and took a pack of ice, probably there thanks to the preparations of the mother.

Done that I came back to the injured woman and I took with my other hand the only surviving chair, an hideous thing, but needed, then I put it at the side of the incredulous looking woman, then I stunned her a bit more:

"Sit."

The woman looked at me with wide eyes and an equally wide mouth, but I just pointed at the chair and repeated with as much authority a nine years old could muster:

"Sit."

She did so.

I started analysing her wounds: a busted lips, a black eye, some hematomas which were more or less healed and some damages to the scalp.

I didn't dare to see her wrists, it would only have made me go into rage and made our lives much more difficult.

So I asked:

"Do you feel any dizziness? Vertigo? Lack of balance? Nausea? Any other than the normal symptoms given by your injuries?"

"U-uh?"

"Vertigo? Nausea? Any problem at remaining awake?"

"No, I don't think so…"

"All right. If you feel any of those things, please go to the hospital. For now," at that, I gave her the ice: "Put this on your eye."

"But."

"Do it."

She took the pack with a bit of hesitation and then she put it on her eye, with a nod on my part.

Now we needed to wait for the girl.

 _Now if only the stench ended._

 _ **One minute later;**_

" _How much is the girl going to take."_

I was a bit hurried, but I didn't like to wait in this case.

We were in a place which didn't let me know exactly where they would attack us, and the way to escape were limited.

From my side the mother, having the ice pack on her eye, a busted lip and a possible concussion, voiced:

"Pffff!"

She was laughing.

I quirked a brow at her guffaughs, while I was using the bound human as a sit, making note of them.

It was, after all, the first time I had ever seen her laugh in my presence.

"Ehehehe!"

' _ **Well, Counting that you were creating a black market of repairing while using underage labour while under the threat of her daughter being killed by some kind of immoral and immortal being, either monstrous or divine,**_ **while** _ **living with that bastard, I consider a blessing that she is able to even smile to her daughter.'**_ Stated the _idiot_ , her tone a mixture of awe and piety at the fortitude of the woman.

"Ahahahahaha!"

' _I think that it's just hysteria making its course. It wouldn't be neither strange or reprehensible if it happened.'_ I stated while observing the woman, who was holdding her guts, while trying to not retch at the disgusting smell coming from the human.

' _ **Shouldn't you do something then?'**_

' _I think I am not the best equipped person for this kind of things. Maybe the millenias old loner has some better way to approach it.'_

' _ **Wait, who are you calling loner, old soul?'**_

' _If you need a drawing to understand, I am more than happy to do it, idiot loner.'_

' _ **Who are you calling idiot, you idiot?!'**_

' _You didn't reject the loner part, idiot.'_

' _ **Fuck you!'**_

' _It's rather difficult when you don't have a body and I am a nine years old body. I can understand that you, in all your loneliness and idiocy, never had the possibility of, in simple words,_ 'fuck your brain out' _, but I would say that it's better for you to be not considered a-'_

"Wait, wait, ehehe, you are serious?" the mother finally was able to regain control over her own mouth, and was able to ask me this moronic question, at which I answered with a risen brow in the direction of her mirth filled face.

Mirth that didn't last at my lack of any answer, and instead changed in surprise and...

Pity?

"Shirou, you aren't blaming yourself now, right?" asked the mother with a calm voice, gentle even, while I just turned my eyes to the still closed door.

Come on girl, how long can you take?

"Then," came again the voice of the mother, which held a vein of calmness in it that made me turn to the stone faced woman again: "I should apologize for putting you in danger, making you rest, or rather not rest, at all, putting you in a difficult situation with your own family and my daughter to not make known of her-"

"Woman, what we did was necessary, but your injuries were caused by a delay of my own react-" I tried to make the mother understand that her position, even if noble to me, was completely wasted, but she interrupted me and instaid declared, her voice calm even if her injuries were probably hurting more than a bit:

"The danger which created this kind of injuries was one that you were aware and alerted me about. I didn't do this without the knowledge of what could happen, and I knew every risk that would come in with this decision. Even more, you have given me a way to alert you in case things were going badly, a way which worked."

"But-"

"But nothing. Now could you please go to see if Penelope is done while I call your family? After all those trips for "play dates", there is only one last baggage of my and Penelope's things I need to take. Thanks."

"All right, remember that I wasn't here. And remember to do that divorce letter, I don't want to be near that human again."

With that and with an open frown, caused by the knowledge of the wrongness of the mother's words, I moved through the stinking building, smell which for some reason was becoming stronger, and came in front of one ruined door with a blue 'Penelope' plate loosely put on it, from which came a scent of salt, thankfully much more muffled than what it would normally be.

Now it was like being in a coastal city instead in the sea itself.

I knocked on the door, knowing full well that, if I surprised her while she was opening her Circuits, it could lead to a rather… explosive… reaction.

" _Come in."_ came the muffled tone of the girl, at which I entered.

The room itself was Spartan, almost empty despite its blueness, with only an old bed, an equally ancient nightstand, a dresser and a small window.

A dresser which had all the drawers damaged in the middle, where lock's keep should be, and window with a locket bigger than my hand.

My frown intensified, but I wasn't here to find more reasons to break the human's bones.

After all losing his "friendships" due to my hypnosis was going to be worst for him, along with the morning after.

Along with those cracked bones.

' _ **Kekekeke, what a good night…'**_ came the sadistic words of the idiot, from whom I could feel malice against the human that was more than a bit unsettling.

"Well? What are you doing standing there like an idiot, _Sheru?_ " came the annoyed voice of the girl, who had the amulet around her neck blocking the greatest part of her presence, even if her Circuits were active, just like I had projected it, and was looking at me with two venomous eyes, red on the edges and with some droplets on their eyelashes.

I sighed tiredly at those details, something which was misread completely by the girl, who became even more annoyed, but before she could shout at me I stated steely:

"I have hypnotized your mother and made sure that you both will both be out of here in a few minutes. Now, how does the amulet feel? Any problem with it?"

It was an extremely important information to know, because unfortunately I didn't have the time to test it, and the increasingly strong smell was making me be thankful of my luck for one time.

"Uhh… it feels like having one arm asleep, but I don't feel… wait a moment, did you say that we were moving out?!" the crescendo of volume, given with a perfect childish tone, was very annoying and this, along with the ever rising stink, made me rather irritated.

"Yes." I drawled slowly, making sure to show the entirety of my own annoyance: "Now if you could avoid to shout so much so we can not make my presence known, it would be perfect."

The girl shifted her eyes guiltily to the door, behind of which there was her mother preparing the last things, and then she looked at me again with those same eyes and whispered apologetically:

"Sorry, I didn't want to. How will you get out without being seen?"

I simply walked to the window and Analysed the locket, doing the same thing I had done a month ago, which was finding its key.

I could break it with Reinforcement, but I didn't want to make too much noise, nor did I want to leave a possibility for the police to investigate about a possible burglary.

Too much attention by the mundanes could spell attention by the unnatural beings over the Jacksons, and that I couldn't let pass.

*SCRAAAAATCH!*

The sudden scratching noise made me turn, just after I had opened the lock, and I saw the girl moving, with some effort, the dresser and reveal a nook in the wall, inside which there was a blue photo album.

She glared at me, like daring me to say something, while she moved the dresser again, instead I turned around and opened the window, letting the warm summer's air inside the room, along with the noises of the city's evening, and started climbing it.

Started, because when I looked around I noticed, between the lights of the cars and the lampposts and the shadows of the buildings, some black shapes flying in patterns, which were at least five kilometres away as the crow flies.

I immediately Reinforced my eyes, and a curse came unbounded from my lips:

"Damned Root…"

That's why the stink was becoming more and more…

I turned to the girl, who was looking at me wondering, and informed, curt:

"The persecutors of Phineas are coming in this perimeter. If we remain her they will find you. Your mother should be ready, go with her to my house; I will get them out of your tails and make sure that they don't know that you were here."

I was becoming rusty if I couldn't piece a simple attack.

Fortunately I wasn't that rusty to not prepare for an attack.

"What do you mean with "Persecutors"? Some kind of winged monster like Harp-." demanded aggressively the girl, moving towards me with a dark expression, probably ready to slay whatever would touch her family.

"Exactly what I said. Now go." I repeated in an harsher tone, stopping what she was going to say, while Reinforcing my body again and repeating mentally the escape route I had prepared.

"But…" was the unsure answer given by the girl, which made me glare at her and order with an anger that I hadn't use in a lot of time:

"Go!"

The girl immediately went out of the room, giving me one last look, but I wasn't able to take note of anything else because I was preparing to do an idiocy.

I needed to reach the fire escape at other side of the face of the building, knowing that a five floors' climb would only be slow, and I needed to be on the roof to attract and pull away the winged monsters from this building.

Make them think that the presence here was only fortuitous and not because a demi-god lived here, using the relative highness of the building as my advantage.

*UMPH!*

I felt a feeling of weightlessness and warm air against me when I jumped to the window six meters in front of me, but then I landed "safely" on the external part of the window.

Two to go.

I would need a weapon able to slay without any problem, while not needing a deep modification with Alteration along with not being a Noble Phantasm.

I didn't need to flat a block at the use of Caladbolg, it would be overkill.

But a certain, sadistic priest had given me the perfect weapons for this kind of situation.

*UMPH!*

*CRACK!*

The sound of the concrete cracking under the pressure of my body made me Reinforce it, while the noises of the clacsons under me became more muted for a moment.

' _ **Could you please concentrate at not becoming a pancake, old soul? My millenia old hearth cannot resist for this long.'**_ The _idiot_ commented exasperated, even if her tone made come through a sliver of concern.

And now I knew that she was saying the truth due to the damned Geass, damn it all.

' _We have the stairs in front of us, then we will go to the roof.'_

' _ **Wait, you want to jump on a rusty, probably bad built, not approved stairs after jumping for six meters, seven floors above the terrain?'**_

I didn't just want.

I did.

*CLANG!*

I crashed against the rusted metal, my Reinforced hand grasping the railings and the knees hitting them, becoming slightly more injured than before.

Fortunately I had taken the shot again tetanus.

*CRRRRrrrAAAAAAaaaaAAAANnNnnnnggg*

The stairs creaked ominously again, perched as I was on it, so I decided to not remain there for too long and climbed on the railings, finally on something projected to have people on it.

' _ **I think that even this isn't projected to be used by humans.'**_ Quipped the goddess, unwilling to let her guard down in this place.

I just grabbed my pendant and closed all my circuits but one.

More than three hundred and half units of Prana would be more than enough for those mystic codes and my bow.

Considering that when I was still Shirou Emiya my Circuits were barely able to produce three hundreds of units, I was even more used to this power output then to my normal one.

And so, one floor was climbed.

After the difficult task of closing my own Circuits, I started pumping Prana into the pendant and, with an emotionless voice, I started chanting the deactivation Aria

" _ **I whispered lies, I gave falsities and tailored deceptions."**_

The stairs groaned and rang under me, bending at my wake, while with my eyes I scanned the skies, searching for the enemy to be slayed.

And so, another floor was climbed.

" _ **Now I shout truths, I offer veracities and construct trust."**_

I could smell their stench, I could hear the flapping of their black, filthy, ruined wings along with some screeching noises, that held something both human and inhuman in them.

And so, another floor was climbed.

" _ **Now the sword is bare for everyone to see."**_

But their human side wouldn't matter, I was prepared to take them down, whatever their number was.

I was experienced in slaying, after all.

And so, the last floor was climbed.

Now I was able to see them in all their filthy glory: head of woman, body of a vulture, and all dirty.

And they were thirteen.

Hell always had such a fine way to ridicule me.

' _ **Didn't Astolfo drive off the Harpies with his horn in his story? You should have it in your Reality Marble.'**_ askedthe idiot, while I summoned the black, sleek and tall figure of my bow, and prepared my stance.

' _I… think it's present. Only the fact that it was made for war should be enough to be put there, but the cost of summoning it would be too much even for this over-qualified Circuits. Along with being an alarm for all the beings in this city. I would like to avoid be crucified by commuters if I can.'_ Along with waking up the gods just days before their little reunion.

' _ **Well, at least you are a good shot, so probably it won't be needed.'**_ Commented the idiot with surety, while from my Marble I took one of the weapons.

' _A good shot with a weapon projected to kill monsters, remember. Even if used by Kirei, the Black Keys are dangerous weapons for the creatures which prey humanity.'_ I stated calmly, clearing my mind, and summoning a long, rapier-like, blade, which had a short, red guard, while its blade was full of "blessings".

If you can count as "blessings" curses which would have made you want to ask if God was a sadist on par with Angra Manyu.

Probably Kirei's doing, I wouldn't make it past for the priest to do it.

Or just every Executor: they were slightly… trigger happy while hunting creatures.

*Screeech!*

The biggest Harpy's far screeching made me lazily look at them, and equally lazily rise my own bow.

Then a quick use of Alteration added the quality of "Arrow" inside the Black key, making its guard become like a vortex, as a substitute of the fletchings, while the pointy end became even thinner, like the point of a needle, and I drew it, getting slightly strained even with my D- ranked strength.

Then I let it fly.

 _*The driver of the lead's car fell, his head having been punctured by the "normal" Reinforced arrow after passing through the "bullet proof" window, and the other soldiers covered behind their make-shift military vehicle with screams and shouts and hasty steps, while the machine-guns hastily put on them whipped around my elevated position, searching for the one who killed the driver, while the vehicle behind tried to get behind the bridge and to escape._

 _But they didn't see me, and I capitalized on that with a second arrow.*_

When the second sword was released, I observed its flight until it hit its target and then started moving to the 105th road, trying to make them follow me.

And the monsters, with sounds both human and inhuman, descended upon me, going far from the two Jacksons below.

When I was jumping from building, I had already prepared another Key arrow and, when I was in flight, I had already draw the bow and aimed for the closest monster, five hundred meters from me.

Without any hesitation I let the sword fly.

 _*The third fell from my emotionless arrow, right in the eye, slumping on the machine gun, while the others scattered, and I could see one of them fumbling with a radio._

 _When I landed on the other tree he was the next one to fall with an arrow passing through the heart._

 _But now they knew where I was, and this knowledge was confirmed by the hails of fire and metal coming for me._

 _My Reinforced clothes were more than enough to deflect those bullets, and this was without counting the lack of accuracy of these levies._

 _Then the last machine gun roared to life.*_

That Harpy was divided in two the Black key, her screams of pain almost deafening, but I was too focused on the battle and on the Alteration of that same Black Key, which was fired at the furthest monster, which was trying to escape.

Two Harpies were then on me, trying to skewer me from before and behind me, but with a muttered **"Trigger off"** they were impaled, then, with a lighting fast action, took the Key in the monster in front of me and used it with my bow.

Now four remained, and I needed to jump the twenty three meters of the first avenue to get to the Harlem river and cover my tracks.

But I had already covered a distance like this when I was a mortal.

I could do it again.

 _*The water roared under me, while the bullets soared over me, and only a Reinforced cloth was my protection against both._

 _But it was enough, and now I was behind their covers, something they found out when two of theirs fell._

 _Three older men shouted something to the last, a young man, who started sprinting to the end of the bank where I previously was, then they started firing at me._

 _They were down in a second, their death painless._

 _It was the only thing I could give to them in my Hypocrisy._

 _Then, through the dirtied windshields, I saw the young man, who couldn't have more than eighteen years, who was running and sprinting and stumbling to the other shore._

 _Even if my eyes were obstructed, my arrow flew true._

 _So now I was alone between bodies of cursed, who didn't want to fight but had, and who would have attacked a village a few kilometres ahead under the orders of a corrupted man._

 _I didn't hate Archer more than this day.*_

" _ **Finally, the sword is sheathed, invisible for anyone to see."**_

"Some things never change."

This was what I muttered while staring emotionlessly at the golden dust floating away, the last parts of the young Harpy which tried to fly away under the begging of the three older sisters.

A black feather, roughly long as a short sword and equally hard, was in my hand, the last memory of their struggle against a monster.

Noiselessly I turned to the Harlem River, which was flowing with all its filth.

But I sensed something coming from the South, so I just started running in the direction of the channel, unbothered by all of that filth.

 _After all eye for eye, tooth for tooth._

 _ **Chapter end**_

 **AN**

 **I apologise for every mistake I have done with the description of the buildings between the 99** **th** **and the 106** **th** **of New York City due to my ignorance of the city itself.**

 **Please don't crucify me for that.**

 **Or burn me.**

 **Or shoot me.**

 **Or behead me.**

 **Or *Schiva coltello* … It seems you have misunderstood my intentions.**

 **Bad readers! Bad readers!**

 **Well, now I only have to-**

 _ **On the building above the first Avenue; sometime later;**_

"Have you been able to find something, Alice, Camilla?"

"No, it seems that the Demi-god is a shy one. Eheh, well this person certainly does have a good aim."

"Oi, how are you sure it's a Demi-god? It could be one of ours who is at rest!"

"Really Alice? I was here for at least one and half century, I would know if some of ours was able to shoot arrows as big as a fucking arm."

"Camilla!"

"Oh, come on, I know you want to encounter this person. And well, if she is a gal, I would find an use for her finger, if you know what I mean…"

"CAMILLA!"

"Ehi, the oath was about _men_ , not _women_. Even you know it and have used it, and I think that the last you were completely-*HMPH*"

"Be silent you pervert!"

"Appreciative towards the feminine form, not pervert!"

"*Sigh.*Sisters, now it's not the moment for thine debauchery, but to discover about this secretive archer."

"*Cough* Well, we know where the Archer started to fire roughly, I would say… between the first and the third Avenue and the 100th and the 110th street? Maybe a bit more?"

"Do we have a more accurate assessment of the position of this unknown? Maybe you Alice, you were the closest."

"I…apologise, but I am unable to say more than the figure was going towards the river. When I was able to see the archer, the person was already going towards it, but I'm not sure about the height. Too fast."

"So he could be in every water touched area of New York by now?"

"…Yes, I apologise for my tardiness in stopping the unknown, but it all took a few seconds to end."

"Me doesn't think that the Boss will be angry at you, littl'Alice, but if she orders for you to be spanked then I want to be the one to do it."

"CAMILLA!"

"So." I stopped my two younger sisters from their seduction dancing with nothing more than my own voice: "We have a Demi-god, given by the attack of the Torturers of Phineas and their fast demise, who is also able to use the bow in a way which could only be explainable if the archer was a child of the brother of the Lady."

"Also our mysterious person was able to take out the crows with that bow, meaning that the mum knew about the divinity of the idiot and to take some celestial bronze long arrows." Added Camilla, rubbing her chin with her small hand and walking in circles, her little feet making not a lot of noise even for an Huntress.

"So…" commented the more controlled Alice, hand rising in a way which was humorous for a seven feet tall daughter of Ares: "Could this "Archer" be from a Legacy? It would make the celestial bronze weapons more understandable."

"Not possible." I commented with a shake of my head: "I had controlled every possible Demi-god and their possible offspring. Not one should be able to do that."

"Soooo," butted in Camilla, rising her not armed hand and counting from five: "We have no idea of the age;" one finger "of the mortal parent;" two fingers "of the certain locations" three fingers "or even the gender."

There remained one… middle… finger.

*Sigh.*

" _Porca puttana Ev-"_

"CAMILLA!"

"I am Italian, we are the only people who can swear against God in their own language, and knowing that he doesn't exist anyway is a pretty good reason to let me swear."

"But it's not polite!"

"So?"

*Sigh.*

"But we know that the Archer is a child of Apollo, and that Archer is a Demigod. We will have to take the Satyrs in, but maybe in some time we will be able to find this person."

At the saddened expressions of my two younger sisters I simply said, my tone confident:

"We are the Hunters of Artemis, we can wait a few months, can we not?"

I should know it well.

I was the oldest of them all.

 **AN**

 **Didn't expect it, did ya?**

 **Now, on with the questions!**

 **(Alert: I will not answer big spoilers, so if you don't find your question here even if I've answered to other questions, it means that it's a spoiler.)**

 **nidaime kiroi senko**

 _will we see UBW being unleashed?_

 **It wouldn't be EMIYA if not.**

 **And about the personality of EMIYA:**

 **I know that the character is extremely diverse from Canon EMIYA, but you have to remember that UBW EMIYA was already on the brink of despair, so much that he decided to start a paradox to simply erase himself.**

 **I just made so that his despair not only continued, but it was heighted.**

 **I would be a worse writer if I just didn't count these changes that** _ **I**_ **did.**

 **It will change with character progression, yes.**

 **But only with time.**

 **Paxloria**

 _But if the Solstice is so dangerous, then how has the mother & daughter pair lasted until teenage years in Cannon?_

 **In PJverse, knowledge of the supernatural is a start to get known by the supernatural itself.**

 **Now that Penelope knows about the Supernatural, she could be able to breach the natural smellingness of Gabe, but before, with her lack of knowledge, she wasn't able even with her being daughter of Poseidon.**

 _(Added by the author in seeing the comments of_ **Nikkless** _and_ **Ztassassin555** _) Why is Archer so potentially weak instead of Penelope, having only 33 circuits against 227 of the girl?_

 **Magical potency isn't the only way to judge the power.**

 **And no, I am not talking about experience.**

 **I have put some clues of the newfound qualities EMIYA has.**

 **Look closely in the chapters.**

 **nobodyreallyimportant**

 **Probably I will have other questions, but in the chapter after the next, so be ready.**

 **Now, thank to FaraamKnight AbyssRhythme Nikkless Ztassassin555 A Dyslexic Writer Paxloria DannyPhantom619 PasiveNox Agent Frank Underwood nidaime kiroi senko Hanzo of the Salamander 2.0 sonic Primordial Inscriptor Z-09 ptl HungrySnack ezik ndoofs Rodvek97 M.J. nobodyreallyimportant Rankin de Merthyr for their reviews, which I always read even if it doesn't seem like so (like with the ones of Rankin, sorry man).**

 **Muchas gracias a** **por el commento, y yo me continuo a escusar por el terible espanol que estoy usando ahora.**

 **Grazia ad Ander warrior per la sua recensione, soprattutto l'ultima parte. Grazie davvero.**

 **Now, I will write a preview chapter for yet another fanfic (I had promised so in a PM), then we will do a… timelap chapter (I will concentrate for years of plot into one, but don't worry, I have an interesting idea about it)**

 **And remember that whoever (martyr) wants to be my beta, can contact me through review or PM.**

 **Now FOLLOW, REVIEW, FLAME**

 **CIAOOOOOOO!**


	5. Chapter 4: The Years of a sword

_**HELLOOOO THERE!**_

 _ ***Schiva**_ **numerosi** _ **coltelli* I was prepared for this for months, fuckers!**_

 _ **Also, this chapter doesn't have any EMIYA POV!**_

 _ ***Schiva ancor più numerosi proiettili NATO 7.62* Oh, how I missed to make you angry!**_

 _ **I think that there is also an angry Lich in there, Am I wrong?**_

 _ **Oh well, I think I was talking enough!**_

 _ **Now lets start again after summer with:**_

 _ **GOD OF SWORDS: HOW A SWORD IS FORGED**_

 _ **CHAPTER FOUR: THE YEARS OF A SWORD.**_

 _ **Year 1; The aspirant hero;**_

' _Ah, how much is beautiful the winter's sky.'_

It was of a blue that made me relaxed, even if I preferred the blue of the ocean, looking from Montauk.

Or the blue cookies. Or blue pancakes.

It was a difficult choice, after all.

"Kid, if I wanted for you to rest then I would have hit you on the head."

Aaaand here it comes the meanie teacher with the meanie comment.

Along with the pain on the side and the burning of the chest, it was one of the things that made me dislike training with him.

Because he was really, really meanie.

Or sar-ca-stic, if what my mom had said was right, along with the dictionary.

Even if it had taken ten minutes to read the definition, it was Sheru's up to a t.

…

Well, at least the snow made me feel much better, like my pain was fading away, and I wasn't feeling the February's cold thanks to the Circuits which made me much more warmer.

"Kid, I know that you are awake and that you are unharmed, so get up. If not, we will simply do Magecraft training today rather than tomorrow." Was the dry comment of her teacher, which made me get up with a jolt and a sheepish smile, shaking the snow from my clothes and my short cut hair, while Sheru was looking at me annoyed, his training spear and small shield at rest and the bit of snow which was on my skin was melting _very_ quickly.

It was a very good feeling, and I felt better when-

*Crack* *Crack*

*SWOOOSH!*

"Pay attention to the foe you have in front!"

-I had a spear in front of my face!

"Oi, it's not fair!" I shouted, having swished away from the "pointy" end of the iron lance, while having moved it with my shield, and still feeling the air hitting the right side of my face.

I decided to be a good sport and to attack him with my own weapon, a Xiphos, while pulling back my shield.

But he knew that it was coming, and he deflected it with his shield, like I expected.

So I punched him with my shield, like Captain America would do.

Even if mine was much uglier than his, and probably less sturdy.

You don't know, being this shield much bigger than the one I used before.

And I was not as good as Cap, because the meanie just jumped outside my reach and attacked me to the foot when I wasn't protecting it, hitting it and making me almost cry, even if it had been blunted and my own leg was being Reinforced at one and half times its normal resistance.

Just at that moment, ignoring the pain, I rose my Reinforced arm and slammed my shield down to the shaft, breaking both the shield and the spear, both disappearing in blue lights.

I smiled at that, and maybe, just maybe, I lowered my guard, being surprised at being able to do that.

Bad idea, past me. Very bad idea.

Because when a hand clamps on your face and then, after making you trip, slam you on the snow and concrete, making you shout at the pain on your back of the head, and then put the shield on your throat, you understand two things:

One, that it's a bad idea to not _destroy_ the enemy in front of you;

Two, that Sheru is very, very mean.

But I already knew that, so I waited for the shield to disappear while the pain on the back of my head was already fading, like the sword in my hand.

"Oi, are you all right, kid?" was the calm voice over me, while he offered his hand to help me get up.

"Aside from losing I'm good, _sensei_." I jokingly said, making sure to punctuate the title that would make him annoyed, if the twitch of his white eyebrow was a good sign of it.

"…I don't know why my mother has said it to me, nor do I know why you want to use it, but I will not let it disturb me, _little girl._ " The start was good, but in the end he used a more meanie tone, along with a smirk and a "I am too tall to talk face-to-face so I am bowing.".

He was just three inches taller than me!

"Stop calling me that! You are just one year older than me!" I shouted with all my anger, my gloved hands shaking while the pain had completely faded away.

"…You know that we have known each other for only eight months, right?" he said in a meanie tone, his smirk still in place and one of his brows risen, something which made me more annoyed.

"Yeah, so?"

"So how much did you change in these months?"

I stopped for some moments, thinking about it.

Then I touched the pendant that the meanie had given to me, hidden by the coat her mom had gifted me to "play" in winter.

She probably would scold me if she knew what my "playing" was: a lot of fight one day, and a lot of "studying" on the other.

Studying other things than school subjects, I mean.

At least the meanie wasn't mean enough to not help me after beating me black and blue with a big stick while he was always walking away like a rose.

*BRRR*

While I was starting to feel as cold as a snowman.

Or rather snowgirl.

Well, the Circuits warmness would make the snow melt, and the water would become warm after that, but…

I had magic tricks, why shouldn't I use them?

So I closed my eyes, I concentrated on what I wanted to happen, and then, with a small amount of Prana, like, really small, pumping in my Circuits and my right arm in front of me, I said my Aria:

" _ **Oh blood of life around me, be it ice, water or steam, come on my palm!**_ _"_

The water, because yes, even if I used a "useless naming" (meanie, it was cool and that's that) to call it was water, started moving from around me, even if it was the mist from my heated skin, the (little) snow still present three feet around me and, most importantly, the water which was drenching me, and gathering on my palm.

At least that was what I had in mind for it to do, and the meanie had confirmed that it was working, even if he still forbade me from using more Prana.

Worry wart.

"You are doing good."

Aaaand now my hand and arm were drenched again.

Dammit.

I turned to the meanie and I _glared_ at him.

He was just there smirking, and then he said with that mean tone, shaking his head:

"Well, still not good enough, it seems."

Root damned meanie!

"EHI! Why did you do it?!"

"You still have problems in focusing, so we have to make you better in that. Now let's go in, today's training is done." The meanie answered with the same amused tone, starting to walk towards the door.

"Then why didn't you wait _after_ I was done with the magic trick to make it?!"

"Because it wouldn't have lasted this long. Also, you should not ever lower your guard until you have killed the enemy in front of you, nor let a distraction distract you from you goal. It's still one of you biggest vices, something which we will have to rectify." The older boy said, his tone emotionless while he tore me down without turning towards me, making me look at the side and rub the back of my shoes.

Then he continued, his voice taking a… _strange_ tone, just before opening the door: "But you were able to almost defeat one of the most skilled soldiers which fought in the Thermopylae, one of the knight of Leonidas no less, and your technique is becoming better and better with every session. So don't be saddened by your defeat and instead learn from it."

I immediately turned to him, but a clang made me know that he was already gone.

Oh well, that meant one thing.

"YEAAHHH!" I pumped my fist to the air, happy about one of the few compliments that the meanie ever gave to me.

Wait.

He had complimented me.

That also meant…

"Oh yes, the day after tomorrow we will change your "sparring partner" to something more difficult. Congratulations! Also, remember to revise geography for the test." Came the meanie voice from the other side of the door, which made her freeze in the pumping motion.

Dammit.

Well, at least my goal was closer and closer, wasn't it?

To be able to protect my family from everything which would hurt them.

 _So that, finally, they wouldn't have to be hurt for me._

…

 _Now, if only that way wasn't through study of Maths and ancient myths, or continued repetion of exercises with magic, than it would be much better._

 _ **Year 2; Danae reborn**_

 _Friday 9_ _th_ _of June, 2006_

 _Today is one of those days which Kajiya would call "Material gathering"._

 _I prefer to call it "getting stuck inside an hive and taking the honey without being stung"._

 _Long name, but very apt for the situation._

 _Because I will win in a casino, and not being kicked out, while practically cheating and, in the end, taking the money._

 _Even if someone could call the use of Mysteries simply an ability of a person, not an external mean which would give an unfair advantage, but I don't think that the heads of the casino would think about it that way._

 _But unfortunately this was the fastest way to get money without being on the wrong side of the law._

 _Now the problem, which you can ask, is "how do you win against the house?"._

 _If I have done the things right, I should have already taught to you that, in every case, the house wins, so you should never,_ never _, get inside one._

 _But, if you are in a situation in which Kajiya isn't with you and you have to make money in a fast way, you take the route of the least fight, while taking as much as possible._

 _In this case, poker._

 _The house doesn't have as high stakes as in blackjack, where it's an active player, but thanks to its popularity there will always be a lot of people playing it._

 _With a lot of tables, where the stakes are high enough, it wins in every case, without having the edge which it usually has._

 _So now your only enemies are the other players._

 _And here comes the Mysteries._

 _And also the answer to another question that you have probably just made: "Why didn't you continue with the repair thing? It worked just fine in the first month."_

 _The reasons are multiple, and are:_

 _1) It's a way to train with Mysteries in the field, which is always useful, even more with my own "Origin"._

 _2) I don't want to make an unfair competition to the Kajiya, even as small as this, nor do I want to make the young Shirou work so much (even if he would repeat again and again that he also gains from this kind of deal), and I already feel guilty about using him as a bodyguard for one night a month._

 _3) It's a way which doesn't give a lot of information about myself, only my surname at most, and a sometime not even that._

 _4) I want to spend as much time as possible with you._

 _I know that someday you will have to go to the Camp._

 _I know that someday the gods, in their immense pride and lust, will try to get their paws on you, and you will have to fight for your life._

 _I know that someday you… you…_

*CRACK!* *plick* *plick*

Before a drop of salted water, followed by another and then yet another, would fall on the page of the notebook with a blue _2006_ emblazoned on it, I closed it abruptly, the few things on my desk rattling, and I took a few, deep breaths, while I carefully rubbed my eyes with my free hand.

When I calmed down, action that took more than a few moments, I started putting the things which fell over, being already ready to get out.

The blue paper flower made by Pen when she was in kindergarten; a blue wristband that she had made, that had taken one week for her daughter to make using a rubber band and a lot of blue tinted wood cubes; the letter of the school which congratulated her rising grades;

The photo of us two in Montauk the first year we went there, when she was just three years old, with both of us smiling at the camera.

I put it in its place, I put down the pen, and only then I got up, grabbing the notebook and moving towards the cabinet at the side of my bed.

I opened the second one, completely similar to the other drawers, and I took out the toiletries from it, leaving only a brush on the bottom of it.

I grabbed the brush and I lifted it.

The false bottom of the drawer came up along it, showing the hidden content.

There were five other notebooks, which started from 2000 to 2005, some hundreds of dollars inside a purse and a small silver disk with a reflected seven (a _reversed Ansuz,_ as the young blacksmith called it) sculpted on one face and an I ( _Isa_ ) on the other, with a string that made it wearable around her neck.

It was a small trick that I had always used since I married that… thing.

Deep breath, deep breath, deep breath.

He was no longer here, Pen was now in less danger than she has ever been since she was born.

Calm down.

After a few minutes of breathing technique, I put the last notebook inside and took out the disk, wearing it and instantly feeling a not small amount of Prana flowing inside it and activating the runes, and, after making sure that the blue dress I was wearing was in order, the purse with the money taken, I started getting out of my room.

It was all done in mechanical motions, my mind blank, concentrated on the upcoming task, then, when I was closing the door, I remembered something that I forgot.

I took the blue wrist band, and then I went out of my room, paying attention to not make too much noise, even if I had already seen that the runes put on her daughter's room worked.

I would now have at least seven hours, thanks both to the training and her heavy dinner, while the runes would make sure that no noise was heard from outside.

Enough to rip off some gambler, take the money and go back and have three hours to sleep.

With that, I went out of the apartment, a photo of us two and the "bat" that "I" had gifted her, along with the baseball cap with a silver "I" emblazoned on it, being the last things seen before closing the door.

…

East Harlem during the night wasn't somewhere where you wanted to walk alone, while the noises of the sick and the calls of the drunk badly covered the not so occasional siren of the police, and where the smell of drugs was able to cover the smog.

Even if the time of entire buildings burning down was now gone since the seventies, even if the crime rate had gone down, it wasn't somewhere where you could say you were "Safe".

Well, unsafe if you weren't trained in "Thaumaturgy".

And the feeling of being observed behind my back helped feeling a bit more secure, even if it could seem paradoxical.

So here I was, walking calmly in the first Avenue under the lamps lights, searching for a particular building.

Then, when I arrived at the crossing with the 101st, I turned to the left and started walking down that road, until I came in front of a small game room.

There was a bag of money in neon, and, over it, there was an illuminated writing which gave me the name.

' _La settima bolgia? A good name for this kind of place.'_

This had been my first thought when I had seen this place for the first time.

And this remained my belief in front of this small den, only that I was the thief.

I entered inside the bar/small gambling house and, instead of the smell of cheap drugs and urine, I found the smell of cheap cigarettes and cheap beer, and instead of the noises of horns and shouts of irritation, the noises of losses and shouts of defeat.

Nothing different.

Some of the tenants inside turned towards me, and one or maybe two tried to call me, starting with an "N", but they stopped, their excited expressions became flat and then turned to their previous occupations.

Sometimes being able to use "Magecraft" and to also have some instruments to bolster it is useful, but this wasn't the place where I should use it so freely, so I started cutting the power to half of the runes gradually.

I went in front of a bored barman, who had a dirty shirt and was making sure that no-one inside made too much ruckus, and asked, without letting a sliver of apprehension through:

"The poker tables?"

The young man looked at me with red rimmed eyes and, with a raspy voice and a risen brow, he asked:

"Are you sure, lady? Those in the back are not people that you would call "disreputable". You should go away."

I remained stony, but I was a bit surprised at the concern, because it was that.

Concern.

I smiled minutely and I just said, my tone maybe a bit warmer:

"I don't think there will be a problem, I'm use to that kind of people and know how to deal with them."

The barman looked at me with a pitying look, then he asked:

"How much do you want to play?"

I got my hand inside my purse, grabbed the paper and took out five C-notes.

The man's brow rose a bit more, something which looked rather silly, and then he commented, :

"You are playing rather tall tonight, eh? There is one table which just started, and they needed another one to complete it. Look for the one with the woman with a face tattoo and two men with another tattoo on their shoulder. It's a six people table with only five people. All of whom know how to play, lady."

I just stared at him and he, with a sigh, took out a ruined, plastic container, which had several fiches in it, some ruined, some not, but all recognizable.

He took out twenty five fiches of twenty each and he put them inside a paper bag, giving it to me.

"I would say to get out of here and not lose your money like this, but I don't think that you will go away. Just pay attention, miss…?"

"Jackson."

I needed to use my real surname, but I wouldn't want to risk to find the police at home for tax evasion.

Plus the amulet, the lack of any personal information other than the surname, my own lack of incredible characteristics would help me.

"Jack-son… alright, it's good. I have you down in the register so the dogs will not go up my ass. Good luck there."

I nodded and, without showing any kind of anxiety to the patrons, who changed from drunk talking animatedly one another to angry drunk using the slot machines present in the back, moaning about their losses under the dim lights, twisted even more by the smoke of cheap cigarettes.

And the occasional glances from around, with two who downright turned towards me.

And, in the middle of this room, which could as well be two times the bar itself, there were seven tables, with red embers in front of some lips, amber liquid in front of others, a few having a good emotionless face, some being able to at least mask some of their emotions, and the great majority being as open as a plain.

And then I found the only table with one seat, which had five people around it, two of them were men of south American descent, with a tattoo on their shoulder under their shirts, visible due their short sleeved shirt, one red and the other white, two others, of the same descent, had two white blouses, a bit damp around their armpits due to the warmness inside the room, but they didn't have nothing so incredible about them, and were looking at me with half disinterested and half annoyed eyes.

The woman, on the other hand, was much more… interesting.

Even if she was sat she stood above the men around her, wearing a red tracking suit, which stood out even in the extremely informal situation, with the others around at least having jeans and a shirt, while her sneakers were put on the table while smoking a cheap cigarette, showing that she was much taller than me, and probably more than six feet tall.

But her height wasn't the only particular feature of her description.

There were also her muscles that, despite being hidden well under the baggy track suit, were still visible, while her hair were cut short, so that the brown cover wasn't able to hide the tattoos on both sides of her face, which reassembled, for some reason, the scales of a dragon, black and red, but, for some reason, the ones on the left side being less distinct than the ones on the right.

That was interesting, but ultimately useless for my own objective.

The fact that she had zeroed me, even if the illusion was at now fading, was much more important.

Probably she simply had much more resistance to mental pollution than the others, clear sighted- people with "Pure Eyes" were rare, after all.

The explanations given by the young demigod were much more understandable, after all, then just "the Fates willed it", plus it would also explain my… "ability".

Sitting down, when the last vestiges of Prana left the rune and the Mist stopped confusing my features, and, while no-one of the four was openly leering at me, their eyes still lingered lower than they should before they looked up and all turned away their eyes from me, but the woman stared at me for one moment, confused, and then just shrugged and erupted with a booming laughter, followed by these words, given in a boisterous tone and with one hand pumping:

"Finally we have ze sixth! I would have had to call omeone in if you didn't come here, my friend! Grâce à Dieu pour ton arrivèe!"

The other four had different reaction to that, which ranged from slapping their own face to simple turning away in shame of their… friend I think, then one, who was the better dressed and had a slightly bigger amount of chips in front of him, shook his head and said, his accent much less discernible than the French one used by the woman:

"I apologise for my… friend behaviour, but we have waited for a good half an hour before you came here, miss…?"

"Jackson. But for now I don't think it would be useful. Maybe after you have given me your houses, but for now no."

A bit of bravado would make them think that I am trying to be an hot-shot and so just be amused, or annoyed, by my action.

This, coupled with the dress and my own appearance, would create an air of naivety or arrogance, which would make them underestimate me.

Even if I was acutely aware of the stares directed at me by some of the more unruly gamblers, and even if I was prepared, there was always that small twitch that didn't seem to stop, even if the fact that I was putting the fishes on the table, mirroring the other five players, was helping.

But that was irrelevant.

Much more relevant were the reactions of the other players around the table: the men with the t-shirts, who were probably the youngest in the group, had the most visible reaction, with bulging veins, grinding teeth and increased breathing, while the other two didn't show any reaction other than a quick look at my little hill in front of their much more visible mountains, and a minute rise of their lips.

It was almost disturbing the rate of similarity between the two couples, but probably it was caused by the same kind of experience.

But the most noticeable was the woman, whose smirk only widened and shouted in the same way as before:  
"Zat's a good spirit, woman! Now we can start!"

Not in that exact moment, no we can't.

I needed to do one last thing, even if I would have preferred, and I still would prefer, to not have to do it.

The Prana stopped flowing through the seven, and, in that exact moment, I _saw._

The spirit, the soul, the inner world, the _true self inside every person._

And, every time, it was disgusting.

Not because every person had a dark heart inside them, no.

Even inside this kind of location I could see that everyone had both their lights and their shadows, and in all my life I had encountered very few who were completely shrouded by darkness.

 _He_ was one of them.

No, the reason was because _I_ felt like I was violating them in such a way that not even _him_ would be able to attain, and I was cursed at birth to do so.

But, at least, this curse would help me to protect Pen, like it did in the past innumerable times.

Then, paying attention to not look at the people around the table, I glared at the cards being shuffled by the still smiling woman and put my chip in the middle of the table.

Now, exactly when the woman stopped shuffling, the last part.

' _Show me your history.'_

An influx of information invaded my mind: the origin of the materials, the heat at which the plastic was pressed into form and, lastly, what was print in their faces.

Now, I had enough information to practically play solitaire.

…

"BWAAAAAH!"

There were few things truly uncomfortable in this world.

Looking at a grown man, who was, now that I could see him standing, two times me in size, had several tattoos and scars visible under his completely wet shirt, cry because he had lost in poker.

While two were hugging him and comforting him with both beer and words of encouragement (in that specific order), I was looking at them incredulous, with around five thousands of dollars inside my purse, a good but not outstanding taking, after having cleaned the cash, one beer offered by one of the patrons for my "ability at cleaning them", which I would immediately throw away, avoiding to make my tremors known, while the amulet was again at full force.

At least I wasn't seeing the real nature of the entire night population of Harlem, and I only accidentally saw the ones who were playing against me.

It gave me some interesting information, above all about the woman, even if it left me with that disgusting sensation of ripping away their own selves.

Then someone touched my shoulder.

I turned immediately, and, without even thinking about it, I started coating my skin with Prana, like I was donning an invisible armor, which depleted even more my reserves.

*burn*

Only to come to face to the wide eyed woman, who stared at me for a few frantic heartbeats with a contemplative look on her face, her eyebrows crunched and lips on a flat line, her hands risen up as a non-threatening show, while the three men had stopped their little drama and were staring at us, all under the uncaring people around.

During those moments I could almost a soft sigh from above me, even if it wasn't possible, so much were we drown under the sounds of vehicles, drunk and apathetic.

Then the woman, so, so slowly, put the hands down and with an easy going smile she exclaimed, her voice attempting to sound cheerful:

"If you want we have ze car near, and Andreas went to take it. We know zat this isn't ecsatly ze most… secure district to be in."

The attempt wasn't successful, while I could see that she didn't want to mug me and retake her money, I would prefer to avoid to stay near them.

Even if I didn't see any kind of great affiliation with crime groups during the match, it's better be safe than sorry, and I wasn't the only one who would be hurt by that.  
I had ways to deal with them in every case.

But a bad reputation, or just being a magnet for fights, would be enough to bar me a lot of roads, which I needed to both have the means and the time to protect Pen.

This wasn't something I could let happen.

So, with a smile as perfect as possible, I explained apologetic the fake reason:

"I live near here, it's not necessary, thank you."

*burn*

Hidden in there was the message "I am uncomfortable around you, please let me go away".

I knew that she was really attentive, I had seen that thanks to the fact she was continuously looking in search of bruises and scrapes, given my previous reaction.

"Are you sure? It's not a disturbance for us to do it. After all you have kicked our asses in a glorious. And made this poor fella cry for some statuette he wanted."

"Not any figure! Sakura Kinamoto you Heretic!"

Also the previously calm man was now shouting against one of the two who had spoken the truth, his eyes now filled with… righteous… anger… for the now lack of funds for a cartoon statuette.

I simply turned again towards the woman, who was sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, and, nodding, I affirmed:

"Yes, I am sure. I don't want for you to be disturbed by my presence."

"You wouldn't be a bozer, ya know. But, in case you need, I will give you somezing… where is it…"

The woman was rummaging in her track suit's pockets, biting her tongue in concentration until she finally found she was looking for and, with a satisfied shout she got out a yellowed, oiled, too much wore out business card, which was then given to me without a lot of thoughts about it in exchange for the bottle, given without any remorse.

 _Camille la Rue: Private investigator_ said the ruined letters on it, while under it there was a little figure of the woman in front of me.

I put it inside my purse, making sure to not show any disgust at the greased paper, when the woman was talking in a more calm tone:

"If you ever need some good PI, call us and we shall give you a bit of a discount. Call it…a victor's spoils. Now off we go!" and, with that, the group started moving away, the last glimpse being the woman opening the bottle with her teeth, much to the hilarity of those around her.

Now I started moving back towards the apartment.

*burn.*

I grabbed my right arm, the burning sensation now starting to become much more noticeable, and I moved faster, knowing what would happen in a few moments.

I turned at the main street, the stinging like a swarm on bumblebee around my arm, while, with one hand, I clutched the small rune disk and cut the Prana flowing through it.

*BURN!*

Just a second too late.

The pain was unbearable.

*BURN!*

I could almost hear someone, while my arm felt like someone had thrown a tank of fuel on it and set it on fire.

A thump was heard, but I wasn't sure if it was me or someone else.

* **BURN!** *

Then that someone grabbed my hand and started directing me, my mind hazed through the pain, but I knew who he was.

 ***BURN!***

After all he had saved her. Helped her. Even when I knew he could stay away and avoid all, he saved her.

And I had seen it.

 ***BURN!***

I had seen the desolation, the loneliness and the heavy burden.

The false smiles that were always there for your loved ones, even when all you wanted was to simply jump off a bridge.

I was used to it, after all.

 ***BURN!***

"ink! –ish –oman!"

But then why, Gods, why did you put such a burden?

Why on him?

 ***BURN!***

"Drink this, foolish woman!"

An irony taste invaded my tongue and my mind, in delirium, became clear again.

*burn*

I was seeing two cold, metallic eyes when I came again in me, while the smell of garbages and the spare sound of people made me understand that we were inside an alley, the one near the apartment.

Also atop his head there was a cap, the same that we said it was a gift but truly was:

"Woman, you have to get in. If you stay outside for more, you will attract the attention. The kind we wouldn't want here."

I looked at the child, who was now reaching around my chest as height, and said, my tone calm while I started to get upright again, despite the still burning sensation:

"I… think that… I can do that."

"Good." Said the child, his voice flat and as mechanic as possible for a child of ten, almost eleven. Unnatural, like it came from metal.

It was sad that I had seen his nature, and I felt pity for him, and anger against the Gods.

"Now," continued the child in what could be called, despite the flatness, reprimanding, while I could see blue lines spreading on his legs: "I will give your amulet back tomorrow morning, I could cut down the Prana expenditure. I would also have done that before if you had said it before that it took too much Prana."

I looked at him equally emotionlessly, despite the tremors taking a bit of my strength, and asked, my voice firm despite the pain:

"Would it have increased the time for Penelope's equipment? Because then you know my answer."

"And what do you think would happen if you died now? The girl would be distraught, she would lose all the faith in me and also she would go-"

"To your family. I know that Misato, even if she is a bit strange, would welcome her with open arms, and you grandparents would happily-."

"Damn the Root, woman! If you die then who will help me take the materials? Or make sure that Penelope doesn't close around herself or even explain her origin?" was the angry reply, said with an hotter voice, laced with bitterness and fury, while the child's fists closed instinctively and his eyes became almost bright in outrage.

It was heartening to see a bit of emotion inside the child. Every time he did so was a step closer to my secondary objective.

"I don't plan to die, Shirou. I know that I can, you already explained that to me, but I don't plan for it to happen."

"Good." He answered, his stance relaxing, and I mirrored him: "But, before I make the shield I will either better your amulet or make another Code altogether. I had this in mind for some time. I will give you tomorrow when you come for lunch, until then rest."

With that, he _jumped_ for good twenty seven feet, reaching the edge of an open window and getting inside, leaving nothing at his passage, so I, not wanting to remain alone in a foul alley, started moving towards the entrance of the building, despite the occasional pain my arm was in.

Well, now I had to concentrate to my secondary objective, remembered by how the child had talked to me.

"What a little hypocrite." I murmured, faintly amused by it, while I waited in front of the elevator.

Indeed, it was strange to find a child who was a lot like me.

Ready to give up himself for the good of his family, cursed by the Gods to know much more both about this and the other world, and who had to hide it from his family, I the father, he his own "gifts".

But he always got something wrong, and it resurfaced always when I get inside my home and, with a used stealthy step that I had ingrained in my instincts in _years_ with _him_ , I opened Penelope's room.

I wanted my child to be happy.

I wanted for her to have an happy life, even if the silver sword with many runes on it, resting by the nightstand, was only one of the proofs needed that it wouldn't be normal or calm.

And, if some pain or bruises or blood was needed, then so be it.

I closed the door as quietly as possible, not wanting to disturb her, and moved inside my own room.

Now I would have more time for her to prepare, away from the Gods who would kill her for some prophecy, and also someone who would walk with her.

As a friend, I hoped, because otherwise I would probably scare him away.

*PFFT*

It was funny.

I laughed.

I could also be happy.

I had started to write again, after years.

I was free.

 _Now, I only had to make her happy and not let both become heroes._

 _ **Year 3; The mother of the oldest**_

 _*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*_

The heat was there.

 _*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*_

The noise that I had been used to hear since I was twelve was also there.

 _*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*_

And this had been our family forge for three generations: my Jiji, my Touchan and me.

 _*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*_

Now it was time for my Shirou to join our tradition.

 _*Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *SSSSS*_

There was no action wasted, not a thinning too pronounced or a cold hammering.

The moment the metal was starting to become just a bit too cold, it was put again in the furnace.

" _Not a wasted action… Incredible."_

Touchan whispered beside me, and I could see a surprised expression on his face.

Kacchan was the same, only that she was sporting a proud smile on her face, very much _not_ the same she was wearing when I was making my first, solo, knife.

It could also be because I almost burned down my arm when I made the knife fall in the oil, but details.

Or it could also be for the father.

"Oi brat!" shouted suddenly Touchan, just when Shirou was drinking, waiting for the almost completed blade to reach the 1800 °F ( **AN for us Europeans: around 1000 °C** ) for finishing the forgery: "You doing a survival knife?"

"Yes, old man! In 1095 and with a full tang so you are not left with only a piece of tail in one hand!" shouted Shirou, now having taken again the piece of metal with the clamp and letting it cool in air for the first time.

"You sure? I would reckon that you have to also make an handle for that knife, ya know?" Come on, Touchan, this was just teasing.

"Incredible, who would have said that? I have just already made the holes for the pins."

*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*

"I think I am done!"

Now came the preparation of the edge.

While Shirou was going to the sharpening stone, my Kaachan touched my shoulder and _ordered_ :

"Come on, daughter. We can leave the two idiots here-"

"Oi, you can call the brat an idiot!"

"-But we need to look at the shop. The lunch break is over, after all."

"But mama!" I pouted, trying to make her let me remain here.

It was the day Shirou would lose his virginity, after all!

But her look made me review the situation and, much to my sadness, I left my dear child with the idiot.

"*TCHUM!* I know you have thought I was an idiot again!" shouted the old man again, and as an answer I made a raspberry.

Something which I immediately regretted, when one hand pinched my hear and started dragging me outside, regardless of my outraged noises.

"Close the door behind you, we will have the door of the court open!"

Naturally it was my mother to accept the request, never letting my hear go, despite my efforts to leave it.

It would sound strange, but my Kaachan had a strength that wasn't so correlated to her old age.

So, when she finally let go, we were inside the shop, which naturally was deserted.

It was, after all, lunch hour.

That made me crush over one chair, trying to find the most comfortable position while waiting for one costumer to arrive, all the while I started searching through the sector books for new tecniques.

They would all be needed, because I wanted for Shirou to be the very best, so that he wouldn't have to be sacrificed in the field.

Our family wouldn't accept to sacrifice another of his kin for people who wronged us, even if the enemy was worse.

"Calm down, Mimi. I don't think that the book did anything to you, right?"

That snapped me out from me reverie and, with an huff, I put away the book, and turned to my mother, who was simply tapping over the keyboard, her eyes concentrated at the numbers coming up.

"Also," she said, not once turning: "If you have some concern, you can ask. You may be adult of thirty two years, but I have known you longer than anyone else, and you aren't angered by anything but two things, which are strictly correlated with each other."

I grumbled at that, slightly annoyed that she had found me so rapidly, but I explained anyway:

"It's just… I am concerned. And lost. I'm now lying about the identity of Shirou's father, and, while Shirou doesn't say anything about it, it's not my father name I am keeping. But there is also the matter of the monster, and the gods, and the camp, and how Shirou acts-"

"Breath with me. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale." I followed the words, and then, when I calmed down, I ended:  
"It's just… I don't know. Maybe I can do better? Maybe I should have done differently?"

"How? Maybe expecting for your partner to be a god? Or maybe expecting for his spunk to penetrate a condom? Or maybe aborting him when it was shown, both through magic and oaths that it wasn't possible."

What a splendid way to end a night: know that sperm could pierce trough condoms, then finding out that your (ex) boyfriend is a good, _then_ finding out that you couldn't abort because then the "Divine energy present inside the zygote would make you explode".

Even if it wasn't true, what could I do?

Go against a literal god?

At least he wasn't a complete shithead, and made sure that, for a time, Shirou would be protected, and he would contact me when the time would come.

Naturally trusting him completely would be stupid, but it's not like I had a lot of sources but myths, and well…

Then there was my little Shirou.

He was a prodigy.

Not only in smithing, that was expected.

But also in maths, literature, American history, even physical education.

So much that they asked if he could go up a few years.

But then he would be even more lonely than before.

"Damn it."

"Well, I would rather use "him" instead of "it", but it works too. Also we know that Shirou is special, and that the price of being so different is being alone, and that it caused us a lot of concern, but don't you think it bettered, at least since a few years ago?"

"Well, yeah, after Penelope came… Wait, how did you know that I changed subject?!" I immediately turned towards my mother, my mouth agape, but she just smiled slightly and, with a conspiratorial tone, she confessed:

"You have this slight tick that when you are highly concentrated on something, you start giving away your thoughts. And also the face."

I just stared at her for a moment, then, mechanically, jerkily, I turned again to the book and started reading.

"Let me say this, though. Don't beat up yourself, because not only you aren't doing anything wrong, in fact you are a good mother, despite your childishness-"

"Kaachan!" my ears were starting to become red, stop it, stop it!

"but also because then we would have to drag you back, and we are old, you know? Despite what your father would say, we are not spring chickens, after all".

I didn't turn, this time, and hid myself behind the very interesting pages of the book.

And no, this wasn't my Kaachan laughing about my ears, it wasn't!

And so we waited, between teasing and laughs and the occasional customer.

Thinking about the too much maturity of my child and the incoming dangers that he would face, I laughed.

 _Laugh to not cry._

 _ **Two hours later**_

" _Thank you for your patronage, have a good day!"_

My Kaachan bowed slightly, while I just waved at the costumer, who had been one of the old ones.

I had went back to the forge just an hour ago, and Shirou had just started the normalization of his knife, which was the _most_ boring part of the splendid forging process.

Hey, waving a hot piece of metal in front of a magnet to understand if it was heated enough at least three times wasn't what I would call "fun".

Let me hammer, dammit!

Or quench, or put it inside the oven!

But now instead I was waiting, my Kaachan having finished to make the balance and now was putting on the shelves the products which were sold.

Which was boring!

I understand that there is a need for the shop to have two people inside ready to help, but couldn't Touchan be the one to do it?!

Only because he had the training for first aid, that's sexism I say!

Well, at least I had finished the book and now knew other ways to help Shirou.

Now if only I _could go teach him instead of being here!_

 _I want to stretch my legs!_

 _And beat some steel!_

 _ **Am I not the hand of God?!**_

*BAM*

This was my head on the desk, by the way.

"Uuhh… How much longer will it take?" I mumbled, my voice muffled by the wood, while I could feel my eyes rotating back.

No, I don't like being on the desk.

"Could you avoid to damage the store's propriety, please? It's not good for our revenues to have to repair a table." Berated the ruler of the desk with a calm tone.

"But I am bored, and I have finished the book, and I am boreeeed!" I lamented, my boredom having already reached a critical point and going towards the deadly.

"…I really don't know if I have to thank the gods for having such a clever daughter, or curse them for having her being such a scatterbrain." Muttered the ruler, while I could hear the sound of rustling hair while she passed in front of me.

"Hey, I am not a scatter brain! Not very much!"

"Are you sure about that, daughter? So you wouldn't immediately dash for the forge door instead of helping with the customers?" she asked, her tone strangely resigned, which made me a bit astonished:

"Hey, take it back, it's not true!"

"Oi, come here, Shirou is ready for the quenching!" Came the booming voice of my father, at which I immediately got up and ran to the smithy.

Fortunately the heavy door was already opened, because there was really the danger of splatting against it.

So now I was looking at my son, who, with an emotionless calm, was moving inside and outside the fiery forge, a barrel filled with Canola's oil at his side, while over the table there were two planks, ready in case the knife came out bended.

While I was raptly observing my son waiting for the last heating, I could hear an huff from behind me, followed immediately after by these words:

"' _Not true'_ she says, and then she run off. Where did I go wrong?"

"Well," was the gruff voice of Touchan, maybe a bit amused, maybe something else: "I think that bringing a camera is a start for the answer."

"…Shut up."

"Oh, is that the one thing the youngsters call ' _Tsundere'_ talking, Ka-mi-san?"

"…I will murder you in your sleep. Try me."

I was zoning them out, completely taken by my son's work.

The actions really weren't wasted, I could see that the holes for the pins already prepared for the handle, while the blade was already thinned an almost ready.

It was much easier to work with soft steel than tempered one.

When the metal reached the colour of a cherry, I almost called him out, because that was the signal that the metal had reached the fabled 1475°F ( **800 C°** ), but my son, the moment I was thinking about it, had already sunk the scorching blade inside the oil.

There was fire.

There was the sound of blazing.

There was the smell of burnt oil.

But, above all, there was heat.

A comfortable heat, welcoming and not disturbing.

It was the same as when I saw his father forging for the first time.

For one moment, I could see a man much taller than him, more than one foot taller than me, but, in the same exact moment, it disappeared.

It was the flash of the camera that pulled me out of there, and I shook my head to scatter the remaining clouds.

It wasn't the time for the past, after all.

So I rushed to my son, my dear Sochi, and hugged him, almost making his perfect knife fall.

In the midst of laughter, angry shouts and smoke, while we all went in the middle of our happiness to the oven to temper the blade, I wanted to live every second possible of it.

 _I so, so wanted it._

 _ **Year 4; The One Before All**_

" _This is worrying."_

The annoyance was seeping through his words.

It was understandable, after all what was happening was hardly _normal_ , even more it was downright _suspicious_.

 _If_ there wasn't a little, _innocent,_ _ **detail:**_

"You have put yourself in that spot, old soul. After all, you are the one who didn't want to be simply an average student."

It was still strange, even after all these thirteen years, to talk again with someone.

It was an intoxicating feeling.

" _It was either that or having to mask even my emotions. It would be too easy to slip up, and it's better to be considered too clever than having several encounters with a psychologist."_

"Well, it's for that reason that now you will go to another school, congratulations old soul! I would give you a cake but alas, I don't think you would be able to taste it."

I tried to lighten the mood, but unfortunately my attempt was shot down by a brief surge of annoyance, and it was soon followed by a gruff reply:

" _If I knew that that school had another affiliated outside of the city, I would have avoided it. Now we will be in a foreign environment, with no secure boundaries, while the kid is still in need of training."_

I could feel his annoyance, not anger, mixed with the always present hatred and apathy for himself, which, like the sea itself, oppressed any other emotion.

But, even then, there was a sliver of something.

Something which I could use to reach my objective.

"I think that a change of situations would be positive for her. She isn't fought alone against any monster, due to the nearness to the Olympus, but if she is able to go there, and she should, having grades near yours, then she will have a way to start getting experience hunting."

Also there was another reason, maybe more selfish on my end, maybe more selfless, but it was there.

"… _That's true. Unfortunately we weren't able to do anything about that, but a change of place_ could _help. The problem will be lack of a stronghold there."_

Only a little nudge.

"I don't think that there could be a lot of monsters able to fight against a "D-rank" demigod, am I wrong, old soul?"

…

…

I could feel that the sliver of concern became more resignation, and that resignation became acceptance.

It was logical, after all.

For him, there would be a day where he will be gone.

" _All right. It's probably for the best, and in case of grave danger I could always take care of it as silently as possible. I would be undoubtedly good for her growth to be there. The problem would be the training location."_

"That's doable through the use of Runes. Not unlike what you did before, I would add."

There were a few moments of silence, then a noisy breath could be heard even through the bond, and it was soon followed by these words:

" _Yes, it's possible. We will give our consent to our families to go to this outside branch of the Yancy Academy. If I will need your help, I will call you."_

And those were the last words given, before he fell to an extremely light sleep.

I stayed there, waiting, and then let myself go to that far action of sighing.

How many years did pass since that promise?

Centuries?

Thousands?

 _Millions?_

"It doesn't matter now." I murmured lightly to myself.

I was close to finally repair for having broken it.

 _This I swear upon my name._

 _ **END CHAPTER**_

 _ **Non Canon Omake (Give thanks to a guest who gave me the idea)**_

 _There were a few people able to do what I am doing now._

 _A joking vampire._

 _A disgusting snake._

 _A girl who had far too much power for herself, shown eight, endless times._

 _But I was the best._

 _I was the first._

 _And I, Merlin-chan, will show them what I am able to do!_

 _And what is the best way, if not using a past of a young man longed by a lot of lasses?_

 _Kekeke… let the show_ _ **Begin!**_

 _ **OOOOH YEAH!**_

 _ **Now Here we go.**_

 _ **Lets see if I can answer also some questions.**_

 _Question about an Omake made by lector123_

 _ **Oh this is going to be so much fun to write.**_

 _ **Now thank ya all for the comments!**_

 _ **Muchas gracias por el comentario, y prosigo a disculparme por el terrible español que estoy usando ahora. (I am going to kiss you Kminari)**_

 _ **Grazie a tutti per i commenti!**_

 _ **And lets see for the next story**_

 _ **(Cause yes, I am going to do a oneshot)**_

 _ ***schiva diverse armi, sia bianche cha da fuoco* Oi, avoid dirtying the room!**_

 _ **And the fault is of that Lich and of sis, who made me think about it more than before!**_

 _ **It's their fault!**_

 _ **Believe meeeeeeee.**_

 _ ***Non riesce a schivare il masso***_

…

 **AN END**


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